The Board of Deerfield Township Trustees met in regular session on Monday July 22, 2024 6:00
pm,at the Deerfield Town Hall with Trustees Charles “Ed” Dean, Laura Lindberg and Tiffany Havens
present. Tiffany opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.
● Tiffany requested to postpone accepting July 8th meeting minutes until the next
scheduled meeting.
Communications:
● Tiffany reminded that Matt Kelly, Portage County Auditor, will be at the next township
meeting August 12th at 5pm. to go over tax assessments and re-evaluation of properties
throughout Portage County.
● Tracey announced that all employees and new hires must attend fraud training. ● Any
objections to any liquor licenses within the township need to be made known to the state liquor
board by October 1st.
● Larry Jenkins Portage County Engineer congratulates Deerfield on receiving the O.P.W.C.
grant as it is very competitive.
● Mike Collins Project Manager spoke about the estimate for the Bandy and Fewtown road
resurfacing project. Mike explained that they are ready to bid the project and proposed
the dates to bid of July 26th and August 2nd and he explained that the bid has to be open
for 2 weeks.
● Ed made the motion to ask Portage County Engineers to bid the Bandy and Fewtown road
resurfacing project, Laura seconded and Tiffany said yes. The roll call vote was
unanimous.
Public Commentary:
● Gary Leifheit wants to know why Brian Kelderhouse is still on leave and how much value he
actually holds with the township. Gary wants to know when it can be decided.
● Chief Dean provided the days in which Brian Kelderhouse worked Wednesday 5-10 and
averaged 15 call backs per month. He definitely was a top contributor to the fire department.
● Gary asked how long does this go on?
● Laura said it hasn’t been decided yet.
● Gary said you guys go on that we need people and you got a guy here that wants to do it
and he’s being locked out
● Laura said we will take your comments into consideration.
● Marjorie Conner spoke about issues with the website being incorrect and not paid for. She
also voiced her concerns about the pending investigation and why it has taken so long.
Marge provided a written statement in which she presented her concerns with issues
involving the township’s investigations.
● Bob Conner yielded his time to Marjorie, who then asked Tiffany Havens to follow the same
procedures enforced on others and not have any vote or discussion regarding this matter.
● Ed questioned the fiscal officer on the statement made by Marjorie Conner stating that
Tiffany told her website had not been paid.
● Tiffany said that statement was true there was a GoDaddy bill that wasn’t paid. She came in
and it was down for several weeks. Nancy and Tracey both stated that GoDaddy was
back up and running within a week. Tiffany said yes there was a delay in getting that fixed
and thanked Marjorie for bringing that to their attention.
● Tiffany introduced Attorney Greg Beck whose Law Firm represents OTARMA. ● Greg Beck
served Brian Kelderhouse with a notice and explained the delay along with the investigation
process. Under Ohio law if you are a firefighter or a police officer, there is a claim against you
with respect to how you may be disciplined there is a process. ● The process is that there
needs to be an investigation, which was completed by an attorney outside of Portage County.
● Greg Beck suggested a motion be made that there will be a hearing against Brian
Kelderhouse at the next meeting.
● Greg Beck also addressed the disciplining against Trustee Havens. He recommended the
board come to a resolution for an outside investigator to come in to do the investigation. ●
Laura stated that she spoke with the Assistant Prosecutor Meduri and they recommended an
outside investigation also since we have set a precedent with the last investigation.
● Laura also stated that she spoke with the business office at the Sheriff’s office and was told
that they don’t do outside investigations. Laura explained that Meduri recommends that
this investigation be handled the same as the last one and recommended Greg Beck
highly.
● Greg Beck explained that confidentiality is the reasoning behind having someone outside do
the investigation.
● Ed made the comment in reference to Laura’s comment about setting a precedent with the
last investigation. He stated that they had set a precedent by immediately suspending
Brian from any involvement with his job, is it also setting precedent since it’s one of the
trustees that is involved in the investigation, fair is fair.
● Ed then stated that he contacted the Major for the Portage County Sheriff’s Department and
told him the circumstances since it is an elected official they can, will and are doing an
investigation and some witnesses have been contacted already.
● Greg Beck asked how an investigation is being conducted without the board’s approval. ●
Ed responded that this a public matter announced at a public meeting since it involved an
elected official the sheriffs office feels they have the authority to come in and conduct that
investigation.
● Tiffany stated that she spoke with one of the captains from the sheriff’s office and he said he
was given a request from Ed Dean to conduct an investigation. Tiffany told the sheriff’s
office that a board meeting to discuss the investigation was happening in the evening and
she would speak with them after.
● Ed commented that his initial contact to the sheriff’s office was to find out how to proceed as
a board member in this very serious situation. He did not go to them and ask them to
conduct the investigation, just for clarification and direction.
● Ed stated that Buddy Myers received a letter from the Ohio Attorney General recommending
him to contact the sheriff in the jurisdiction of where the incident happened.
● Greg Beck stated he does think the investigation should be a board decision and to look at
the objectivity of using the sheriff’s department, not that they would be biased in any way
but he believes outside investigation is best for confidentiality.
● John Girscht interrupted and asked why would we want to hire someone from your office
when the county can do it for free.
● Greg Beck stated he is not the one doing the investigation.
● John Girscht said no you are just the one charging the township thousands of dollars. ●
Marjorie Conner spoke up and stated that what concerned her was that according to public
documents there were numerous conversations between Trustee Havens and the investigator
over the course of the investigation. And if she is in fact receiving updates from the investigator
that is public, and destroys attorney client privilege. ● Greg Beck stated he wasn’t going to
debate Marjorie on that.
● Marjorie this is why from a process standpoint she is very concerned about what went on
and this absolutely needs to be above board. Marjorie also stated that she became
concerned about it not being 100% objective, when she found a public record of a 2 hour
conversation and 40 minute conversation between Trustee Havens and the investigator.
● Greg Beck again stated he wasn’t trying to debate
● Marjorie stated she wasn’t debating, she was just making a statement. ● Greg Beck stated
he didn’t investigate this case, he has the report and he spoke with the investigator.
● Marjorie asked if Greg knew who the investigator spoke to.
● Greg Beck said no, he turned them loose.
● Greg Beck recommended in regards to Mr Kelderhouse and Trustee Havens the board make
the decision on who handles the investigation.
● Laura asked Greg Beck if someone else other than who conducted the investigation with
Brian could conduct the investigation if the board chooses his law firm to conduct the
investigation.
● Greg Beck said yes.
● Laura made a motion to conduct an investigation outside of Portage County and attorney
Beck chose someone to do the investigation.
● So she can still show up at township meetings and events?
● Greg Beck replied yes.
● Why is that when the last 2 people were asked not to.
● Gary asked Why can’t Brian participate in the fire department?
● Someone asked why if you set precedence on the last one why would this be any different?
● Greg Beck responds in the employment world you try to create remedial action. If someone
is creating problems in the workplace the remedial action is to separate them. If you have
an elected official who doesn’t interact on a day to day basis with that certain individual
you are able to maintain safe work space. He added that he doesn’t think it sets
precedent but that’s his opinion and you can disagree if you want.
● Marjorie said she did.
● Tiffany stated that last meeting she recused herself from anything to do with the garage or
that investigation.
● Laura stated she had a motion on the floor that we hire an outside investigator out of
Portage County very impartial and Attorney Beck can choose.
● John it’s already been 3 months this man has been investigating $15,000 later and still
haven’t got a determination.
● Ed stated that normally he would second Laura’s motion however he won’t since the Portage
County Sheriff’s office has already started their investigation. He believes the sheriff’s
department will be impartial and go for nothing but the facts. He doesn’t understand why
we have to go out of the county to hire someone when the county sheriff who investigates
murders on a regular basis can do it for free.
● Gary asked does the sheriff department charge for that?
● Ed replied no
● Gary said it was a no brainer.
● Chuck Little said that he doesn’t think someone who can be swayed by votes should be
conducting the investigation.
● John stated that the fire department is going broke because of this bullshit $15,000 out of the
fire fund and come November the people are going to see the levy and it’s not going to
pass. I can tell you right now I’ve been in the township for 50 years.
● Tiffany told John we could add him to the commentary if he would like. ● Tiffany also stated
that she has to recuse herself from the vote since it is an investigation involving herself.
● Laura stated that she feels the advice of the legal council should be followed, it should be
done externally and with attorney Beck.
● Greg Beck said that if the township wants to use the sheriffs office that’s fine but once the
investigation is done that all becomes public record and if there is something in that
report that is damaging to anybody.
● Someone said we are interested in the truth, that’s a secondary concern. ●
Marjorie asked if the township’s legal council could investigate?
● Ed asked are you referring to Greg Beck or the prosecutor’s office? ● Marjorie suggested
that the township turn the investigation over to their legal council as a compromise, in addition
to the sheriff’s investigation.
● Ed stated that the sheriffs office already said they would turn their report over to the
prosecutor.
● Marjorie in that case would that not be covered by attorney client privilege and not be public?
● Ed stated he would think so. And that the sheriff said they wouldn’t release it to anyone but
the prosecutor office.
● Chris Sutcliffe said Ed you seem to be all over this why weren’t you all over this on the first
investigation you are awful worried about speed and quickness now.
● Ed stated that he wishes he would have been as they are $15,000 into an investigation with
no answers.
● Chris said that it’s ok for someone to come in and make an accusation against you and you
don’t want to spend money to defend yourself.
● Someone asked does the sheriff investigators know somebody in this room ●
Ed replied have no idea
● Tiffany stated yes they do.
● Chris stated that Ed Dean was behind it all.
● Tiffany stated that when she spoke to the captain they said they typically don’t get involved
in these cases and that if an outside investigator was used they would be comfortable
with that.
● Laura stated that she was told by assistant prosecutor Meduri that they don’t do outside
investigations. And when she called the sheriff’s office business office the lady said no we
don’t do that.
● Laura stated she still had a motion on the floor.
● An audience member said how is this going to work if you all vote differently? ● Laura
asked why are we handling one complaint differently than the other complaint? ● Ed said
because 1 is a public official that changes things.
● Greg Beck said if the sheriff department is going to do the investigation and turn it over to
the prosecutor and the prosecutor will do their part and it would still be investigated. ● John
asked where Greg Becks investigators were located.
● Greg replied with Stark and Summit county.
● Chris Sutcliffe said we elected these people for a reason. Do we really want everytime
someone doesn’t get their way for them to bring their person in and threaten lawsuits or
make ridiculous accusations.
● Gary said that’s how this all started. Somebody didn’t get the chief they wanted. ●
Denise Lawson said tuche.
● Gary said how all this stuff started every bit of it is one big vendetta. ● Denise questioned if
Brian Kelderhouses investigation would start from ground zero since he has now been served
the papers.
● Greg Beck said no.
● Denise said she thought we were supposed to have a public hearing a month ago. ●
Greg Beckreplied that it didn’t work out
● Chris said I know you said you don’t wish to share but can you share to us why there was
such a delay in the investigation it seems pretty important.
● Tiffany said in the last month it was because they were not able to properly serve Mr.
Kelderhouse.
● Chris said the last month isn’t half of it , it has been 8 months. Can you share with us about
the last 8 months?
● Greg said there was forensic on a device that had to be evaluated and decide whether or not
the township should spend additional funds for forensic analysis.
● Laura said well you make this decision Ed we were supposed to come to the board and
make a decision and you just went ahead and did without comin to the board.
● Ed said it was a legal matter. It was not hiring an outside investigator, this is our county
sheriff department who said they would like to investigate this, this is a serious charge
against a public official. We just all took fraud training and if you know something and
dont bring it forward you are at fault too. We all just had fraud training.
● Greg suggested to Laura to make a motion for the portage county sheriff’s department to
continue the investigation and turn their investigation over to assistant prosecutor Meduri. ● Ed
said what if he gives it to the prosecutor, or Victor Vigluicci, I am ok with your motion as long as
the investigation can go to anyone in the prosecutor’s office, not just one specific person.
● Laura said Ed, when you call you speak with Chris Meduri he’s been following this all along.
● Ed said no he speaks to Brett he is our attorney, he was off on leave.
● Ed said he will second the motion as long as the report can go to anyone in the prosecutors
office Laura said that was fine. Ed seconded and Tiffany abstained. Roll call Laura said
yes , Ed said yes Tiffany abstained.
● Tiffany asked Greg Beck if there needed to be a motion made for Mr. Kelderhouses hearing.
● Greg suggested a motion be made that a hearing will take place at the next scheduled
meeting.
● Brian Kelderhouse requested the meeting be moved to the end of the month August 26th at
6pm .
● John asked Brian if he met with this gentleman.
● Brian said I didn’t meet with him
● John asked who out of your office met with him.
● John G. interrupting & swearing.
● Laura asked the crowd to calm down
● Tiffany made the motion for the hearing at the next meeting on August 26th at 6pm Laura
seconded and Ed said yes. The roll call vote was unanimous.
● Tiffany and Ed thanked Greg Beck.
Road Department:
● Ed mentioned about a culvert that was replaced on Fewtown with John’s help in the past
week that took all day to replace.
● Continuing the roadside mowing John is also driving the chase truck for added safety.
Buildings & Grounds:
● Trail cams have not been put up, there was an idea of different cameras that run off
bluetooth. Board decided to proceed with originally purchased trail cams.
● Ed mentioned some limbs that need to be removed in the Deerfield Cemetery and is calling
to get a bid for the next meeting.
● Laura made a suggestion for Raelynn’s Tree Service.
● Tiffany invited any other companies to submit a quote.
Fire Department:
● Tiffany and Chief Dean discussed their proposal of the committee for the policies and
procedures. Chief Dean proposed the committee to consist of: Todd Bardelli, Brian
Allison, Assistant Chief Day, Timmy Suderman and Sean who is a career firefighter and
resident of Deerfield.
● Tiffany mentioned that maybe having a digital copy of policies and procedures on the website
would make it accessible for everyone and easy to update.
● Chief Dean said that was an excellent idea.
● Tiffany requested a copy of the resignation of Clarence and Barb Simpson. It was not provided.
● Tiffany asked about the grant Derek was working on for the ram equipment for auto extrication. It
was ordered and should be towards the end of September. The grant is making
progress.
● Tiffany suggested creating a form for people to request training / training funds. Chief Dean
agreed.
● Chief Dean is going to create the form.
● Chief Dean announced the pulse ox is down $699 Tiffany has one to donate until a decision can
be made.
● Chief Dean brought it to the board’s attention that the backup ambulance didn’t have a pediatric
life support kit.
● Tiffany made a motion to purchase a pediatric life support kit in the amount of $1679.99, Ed
seconded Laura said yes and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Old Business
● Matt Kelly Portage County Auditor would like to set up a meeting to go over tax assessments
and increases throughout Portage County. Tentatively scheduling for August 12th at 5pm.
● Tiffany reminded all employees to please complete fraud training.
New Business
● Tiffany spoke with WSB the company that got the website up and running a few years ago they
agreed to a town hall rental tab on the web page with a calendar reflecting reserved dates for the
townhall free of charge.
● Financials are being postponed until the next meeting.
Public Commentary:
● Lindsey Davis asked Chief Dean if that committee to form the policy and procedures was
open to all fire department members or did he pick and choose?
● Chief Dean stated I picked and chose.
● Lindsey asked you don’t see an issue with favoritism there at all?
● Chief Dean said no.
● Lindsey you brought up that Mr. Kelderhouse worked 5 hours every week and he responded
to calls and that made him a valuable asset. Do you happen to recall how many
hours I worked when I staffed the station?
● Chief Dean said at least 2 shifts a week, you were very valuable too. I’m not
downgrading that.
● Lindsey I’m not saying that I’m just making it known I worked a minimum of 18 hours a week
and when Chuck and I used to run together I was competing with him for top
responder.
● Chief Dean I’m not downgrading that.
● Lindsey: So are you saying that a basic EMT is more valuable than a paramedic? ● Chief
Dean said we are not going to go basic vs medic all of our people are valuable. ● Lindsey said
it’s a legitimate question
● Chief Dean said you are right,everybody is valuable.
● Lindsey said you have purposely excluded me from the fire department because let me put this
a different way, the board has agreed to put Mr. Kelderhouse on administrative leave , he’s
continuing to get paid everybody is wondering where all this money is going Mr. Keldherouse is
continuing to get paid through all of this so I mean of course he wants to dodge notice for
everything he’s continuing to get paid for this.
● Lindsey: Which brings me to my next question: how long is paid administrative leave good
for? Because he’s still being allowed at the station he’s going out to calls, he’s
showing up to meetings.
● And correct me if I’m wrong. Shortly after he was suspended from the fire department he was
made president of the fire department association. Am I correct in saying that? ● Chief Dean I
wasn’t a part of the association then.
● Lindsey: It doesn’t ,matter you were at that meeting.
● Chief Dean : I absolutely was
● Lindsey: And was he voted president of the association while on suspension? ● Chief
Dean: Not by me
● John: the association has nothing to do with the fire department
● Chief Dean: I wasn’t allowed to vote at that meeting.
● Lindsey: Yeah, correct because you tried.
● Lindsey asked again how long does the paid administrative leave go on for? when there are
obviously issues I’m not because obviously a suspension doesn’t mean anything you
are still allowed to run calls and show up to the department. I’m not putting myself in that
situation so that’s why I’m not there.
● Lindsey asked again how long does the paid administrative leave last? ●
Tiffany: ideally until the investigation is over.
● Lindsey: So we are going to continue to keep pushing dates out and do nothing? There seems
to be a lot of complaints about town ship money as Mr.Girscht has pointed out on several
occasions so there is a big portion of the money who’s allegedly
suspended but spends quite a bit of time at the fire department.
● Laura informed Lindsey her time was up. And asked if anyone else had commentary. ●
Someone asked about the gas station still in effect?
● Ed stated the owner of the property keeps assuring Ed they are still moving forward. ●
Same person stated they need to maintain their property better
● Ed agreed that it looked like hell especially right there on the circle and he would contact him
and get the owner to take care of it.
Tiffany made a motion to adjourn the meeting and pay bills Laura seconded, Ed said yes and the roll call
vote was unanimous.