Disclaimer: Video links are posted as a courtesy to our residents and are not owned by Deerfield Township. Videos are recorded by a third party. Be advised that the official meeting minutes are recorded by our Fiscal Officer and approved by the Board of Trustees. These minutes are posted below for your convenience and may be obtained by request from our Fiscal Officer.
Trustee Meeting – July 10, 2023
The Board of Deerfield Township Trustees met in regular session on Monday, July 10, 2023 at 6:00pm, with Trustees Charles “Ed” Dean, Mark Bann and Tiffany Ha- vens present. Chairman Dean made a motion to open the regularly scheduled township meeting proceeding the Budget Hearing. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous. Tiffany moved to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the previous regularly scheduled meeting held June 26, 2023 and approve them as written. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous. Tiffany moved to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the special meeting held June 5, 2023 and approve them as written. Ed seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Mark moved to approve the June financials as presented. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Communications:
- Ed Dean introduced Denise Smith with the Board of Elections. She talked about their need for poll workers for the August 8th election, the process to register to vote, the different ways to vote and explained Issue I.
- Roger Mansfield with the Lions Club attended the meeting to inform the residents they are collecting 500# of plastic bags to exchange for park benches through a program. Drop off for these bags are Pettigrew’s Feed & Hardware & Deerfield Friends Church. Lions Club can earn up to ten (10) benches per year. Lions Club has earned a bench they would like to donate to Deerfield Township in honor of Deerfield resident and Lions Club Member Sue Bell. Ed Dean made a motion to accept this park bench as a donation in memory of Sue Bell to place in Deerfield Township. Mark seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.Road Department: The Road Department intends to chip and seal two (2) miles of road with Melway Paving and is scheduled for late August. The Road Department has been patching roads. Road side mowing is currently on hold due to Timmy’s accident. Buddy has been working on obtaining quotes for a new mower. One quote came in at $32,500 with a 20 foot reach. The Trustees indicated they have to work with the insurance company. They will check out the tractor before it is put back into service.Buildings & Grounds: The lawn mowing has been continuous and hasn’t slowed down much. The crew have been watering flowers. The Steiner tractor has been repaired and back in service.NOPEC grant money available is $11,656.46 to be used by November 30, 2023 for energy saving projects. The Town Hall lights have all been replaced with LED lights with NOPEC grant money. There are twenty-seven (27) 2×4 fluorescent bulbs remaining to be upgraded. One suggestion by Ed is to replace all these since they are over twenty (20) years old in the Deerfield Town Hall. Another suggestion Ed made is to replace the
fluorescent lights in the garage with LED lights. The last suggestion made by Ed is to replace the old Town Hall light fixtures. The ceiling at the Old Town Hall will need to be repaired. Mark suggested adding LED lights in the circle as a part of this project to use these funds. Tiffany made a motion to use the NOPEC funds to replace the light fixtures at the garage, the old Town Hall, add LED to the circle and the new Town Hall as funds permit. Mark seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Fire Department: The Fire Department has run 265 calls for the year. Since the last meeting they ran 23 medical, 3 fire and 1 service call. Mutual aid was given 4 times and received 9 times.
The air lines are installed. They need auto eject devices for the engine and tanker. The cost would be approximately $300 each, which will help prevent the employees from driving off with the hose. Mark moved to purchase the necessary devices needed and anything further to complete this air line project. Ed seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
The mini pumper is still out of service. The tanker is back from Apple Creek for the valve repair and appear not to be leaking. Unit #1411, the ambulance has a steering problem pending. Many repairs have been made including rotating tires, alignment, etc. John Girscht indicated the 4 wheel drive has been a problem since they purchased and has had front end problems. He feels it is due to the front end not being heavy enough. Members of the audience and the Trustees discussed the problems with ambulance. Ed made a motion to take the ambulance to a repair shop for repairs, whomever can fix it. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
The Polaris is in. Members are concerned that the pump is too heavy for the Polaris. It leans empty without water.
Deerfield Township Fire will be holding an emergency vehicle operation course. Dates will be July 31, 2023 and August 13, 2023.
Breanna requested Deerfield Township pay for her dive class at a cost of $740.00. They will reach out to Palmyra to see if they will pay for 50%, since they did for her EMT class. Tiffany moved to pay for Breanna to attend dive class and pay for through the higher education portion of the SAFER Grant. Mark seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
There was a discussion on Policies 8, 9 and 10 that have been drafted for the SAFER portion of the FEMA Grant. One change proposed during the four year duration of the SAFER grant is to pay the annual $50,000 reimbursement on a quarterly basis, which would be $12,500 per quarter paid out for volunteer reimbursement. They would like to provide incentive to be the second person on the scene as well as credit for attending Deerfield Township training.
Mark felt that the Trustees have not had an opportunity to speak and wanted to set the record straight with the facts as best as possible. The Trustees accepted seven qualified resumes and interviewed six. The 7th was out of town. Tiffany made a motion for Scott Simmons. That motion did not proceed for a lack of a second. Ed Dean proposed Mr. Scott Dean, which is not a relation, of which Mark seconded to hire Chief Scott Dean. Members of the Fire Department and one of the candidates were upset with the Trustees decision and did not agree. Mark feels the members who refused to work hours because they were upset with the Trustees decision were very unprofessional to the residents of Deerfield Township. Mark indicated that a water call is approximately 1 out of 6500 calls. 99% of Deerfield Township’s calls are EMS. There are only approximately 5 structure fires in our Township. Mark thanked the members who stepped up to support our new chief and Fire Department and thanked Mr. Scott Dean for his tolerance. Therefore, Mark made a motion to lift the one-year probationary period for Chief Scott Dean and assistant chief Derek Day effective immediately. Ed seconded the motion and the roll call vote was as follows:
Mr. Bann Yes Mr. Dean Yes Mrs. Havens No
New Business: Roger Mansfield asked for permission to put a plastic bag drop-off either at the Deerfield Town Hall or Garage. The Trustees agreed this is okay.
Revenues received: See Revenue Receipt Register attached.
The following bills were presented for Trustees’ inspection and approval: See Payment Register attached.
Ed made a motion to pay these bills and adjourn the meeting. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Meeting adjourned at 7:20pm.
______________________________ Chairman
______________________________ Fiscal Officer