MADISON TOWNSHIP — Township trustees approved the hiring of five part-time firefighters at Monday night’s meeting.
Fire Chief Ken Justus said Romand Conn and Jarrod Strouth are available for full-time work beginning Nov. 4.
“They both have things going on in the month of October that would prevent them from coming straight to us full-time,” Justus said. “But I think they will both be excellent for Madison Township.
“Ronald Conn has got a lot of training and if we can hire him, he will be a huge asset for the Madison Township Fire Department because of his knowledge and experience.”
Conn is a full-time lieutenant at the Springfield Township Fire Department. He is also a credentialed Ohio Fire Officer through the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association.
Strouth is a firefighter and paramedic who lives in Ashland.
Trustees also approved the hiring of three other part-time firefighters pending background checks: Makayla Haxton, Max Penrod and Dale Gingery.
In other fire department news, trustees approved a motion to contract Pro One Electric Generators in Ontario to replace and move the generator currently at station one on Expressview Drive.
Justus said this 12 kilowatt generator at the station can only power the garage doors, radio room and phone system. Pro One proposed to install a 38-kilowatt generator that will power the entire building in a power outage for $33,725.
The township may pay less than the quoted price if it pours its own concrete pads for the generator. Pro One can move the 12 kilowatt generator to the township hall for $3,200 not including gas line connections.
“That generator isn’t big enough for the fire station, but it’s plenty big enough for the township hall,” Trustee chair Tom Craft said. “So if we had another emergency, we could turn both of the buildings into warming centers or cooling centers.”
The township will use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to pay for the generator replacement.
Township slated to move back to 817 Expressview Drive by Nov. 1
Trustees also discussed their timeline for moving back to the township hall at 817 Expressview Drive. The township has been leasing space at 1408 Ashland Road since May.
Trustee Jim Houser said the township’s insurance company and Rainbow Restoration are working to help the trustees move back into their building by Nov. 1.
“By the end of October, we have to be out or voice an intention to extend this lease for another three months,” he said. “The insurance company wants to make sure they don’t have to pay for three more months’ rent, so our goal is to be out of here this month.”
Houser said carpet cleaning didn’t get water stains out of the carpeted rooms in the township hall, so the township will need to replace some flooring. Insurance will pay the quoted $2,059 estimated for carpet replacement.
Trustees moved to pay an additional $430 out of the township budget for vinyl flooring in the affected rooms.
Fiscal officer Leanna Rhodes said she and trustee Cathy Swank have been organizing records at the township hall that they are not required to keep copies of anymore.
Rhodes said the township will pay an Ashland-based shredding company to dispose of the unneeded records.
“In Perrysville, they had a similar project getting rid of 1,743 pounds of records they shredded and it cost them about $500,” she said. “We have probably at least three times what they have.”
The township will pay shredding costs using ARPA funds.
Also at Monday’s meeting:
- Trustees voted to continue Traci Trumpower’s contract as assistant fiscal officer.
- Trustees approved a contract with Dexter Corporation to pay for a 2024 road truck when the company receives new freightliners in February.