MADISON TOWNSHIP — Madison Township residents will see a new electric supplier on their bills if they don’t choose to opt out of an aggregation program by the March billing cycle.
Trustee Tom Craft reminded attendees at the Feb. 18 meeting that township trustees agreed to enter a 14-month contract with Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) beginning in March 2025.
The aggregate price will be 6.499 cents/ kWh under the NOPEC agreement.
“Everyone should have gotten their letters from NOPEC,” Craft said. “If you opt out, you will not stay at Energy Harbor’s 4.6 cents a kilowatt hour. If you do nothing, you’ll go to the variable Ohio Edison rate.”
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio hosts an “Apples to Apples” comparison chart for different electric suppliers.
“Most of them are only giving a three-month timeline, so just watch that if you look for your own,” Craft said. “If you do nothing — if you throw the NOPEC letter in the trash, you’re automatically enrolled at the 0.064 rate.”
Craft also asked township residents to reach out to any of the three trustees if they want to share opinions about solar fields in the county before a meeting trustees will attend on March 27.
“The county commissioners want trustees to gather some opinions about solar fields before a district advisory meeting,” Craft said. “There will be two speakers about solar fields.
“I don’t care if you’re pro or con, but if you have an opinion, let us know.”
Trustees agree to waive mistaken delinquent tax on Lantz Cemetery
Also on Tuesday, trustees agreed to let the Lantz Cemetery board use the township’s hall at 817 Expressview Drive for its meeting March 11.
Additionally, trustee Dan Fletcher read a letter from Lantz Cemetery on Lucas Road requesting the removal of a delinquent tax assessment on the property that Fletcher said he thinks was assessed in error nearly 20 years ago.
“The cemetery association told me they were assessed in August 2005 for $760, apparently for high grass and trash removal,” he said.
“The cemetery is tax-exempt from property tax, but I guess they’re not tax exempt from assessments.
“I live in that neighborhood and I don’t remember the cemetery ever being in that shape. I looked in our meeting minutes and checked with road department employees — I couldn’t find any proof that this was assessed and cleaned up by the road department.”
Trustees moved to remove the special assessment and delinquent taxes from the property, which had grown to a bill of more than $1,900 after interest.
Also on Tuesday:
- Road superintendent Larry Weirich said a township resident alerted him to some missing guardrail at the Evergreen Ave and McElroy Road. He said Lake Erie Construction quoted $6,250 to replace about 150 feet of guardrail. Trustees will discuss the quote at a later meeting.
- Weirich said the township’s old dump truck sold on GovDeals for $12,000 to a bidder in Chillicothe.
- Fletcher said the Richland County Commissioners have set a public hearing for March 11 at 10:30 a.m. to review the township’s intentions to vacate Ram Road and an unnamed alley between Illinois and Bahl avenues.
- Trustees met in executive session to discuss compensation for an employee in the fire department.