Following months of negotiations, Jerome Township and the Union County Sheriff’s Office have reached an agreement to extend their public safety officer contract through the next three years.
The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept a revised contract with UCSO to provide four dedicated PSOs shared between Jerome and Millcreek townships.
The two townships will continue to split the cost of the program in the same manner they have in the past, with Jerome covering 80%.
According to the contract, 2022 costs for Jerome Township will not exceed $384,864.72 or $96,216.18 for Millcreek Township.
The Sheriff’s Office will pay for the training, cruiser, uniforms, supplies, equipment and equipment repairs for the PSOs.
The officers will be cross trained to assist in EMS and fire emergencies.
Disagreements arose between Jerome Township and Union County officials when trustees proposed a county-wide staffing study that indicates how many deputies are needed and how many Jerome Township should be funding.
During a Dec. 7 trustees meeting, Commissioner Dave Burke and Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton said the county would not support a staffing study.
The contract approved on Tuesday deletes a clause that dictated the townships and the Sheriff’s Office create a “Joint Staffing and Safety Committee” that would “select an independent professional consultant to conduct the study.”
While a staffing study will not occur under the terms of the current contract, Trustee Chair Megan Sloat, who will be the only trustee remaining on the board when new members are inducted in January, has previously said she will continue to push for one in the future.
Police Protection levy
The board unanimously passed a resolution to submit a police protection levy to the Union County Board of Elections for placement on the ballot for May 3.
A five-year, 1.1 mills renewal levy with a 0.1 mill increase narrowly failed in the November election, with 50.7% of voters against the measure.
The next election will feature the same measure, if approved by the Board of Elections.
Fiscal Officer Robert Caldwell noted that the existing levy will be collecting at an effective rate of 0.78 mills. If the proposed levy passes, it will collect at an effective rate of 0.88 mills.
JTFD Station 211 bids
Jerome Township Director of Departments Douglas Stewart also relayed information surrounding the bids received for the fire department’s second fire station, Station 211.
The bids for the project were opened at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Stewart said Ohio Revised Code allows bids accepted to exceed the estimate by 10%. However, each of the four bids received exceeded that amount and cannot be accepted.
He said the lowest bid was approximately $24,000 higher than the excess allowed.
The trustees unanimously accepted a motion to reject all bids and a motion authorizing Stewart to advertise the bids again, with a $4 million estimate rather than $3.8 million.
Stewart said rebidding the project will delay the timeline for completion of the project.
Board and committee appointments
The trustees made several appointments to both the Zoning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals.
The board voted unanimously to appoint Aaron Grabovich to the Zoning Commission with a term that expires on Dec. 31, 2024.
The trustees also unanimously appointed Syed Sulton to a term that expires on Dec. 31, 2023 and Josh Yoder to a seat that commences on Jan. 1, 2022 and ends Dec. 31, 2026.
Disagreements arose between the trustees surrounding a vote for appointments to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Trustee Megan Sloat said she feels “the new board should have a voice” and the vote should not occur until the two trustees elected in November are sworn into office.
Still, Trustees Joe Craft and C.J. Lovejoy voted to appoint Ken Gordon to the Board of Zoning Appeals for a seat the commences Jan. 1, 2022 and expires Dec. 31, 2026, while Sloat dissented.
Zoning hearings
The trustees unanimously approved a development plan for Jerome Village Neighborhood Section 11 (VN-11).
Developers intend to build 165 single-family dwellings on 80.409 acres of land on the northwesterly side of U.S. 42 between Harriot Road and Bell Road.
James Holtzmuller, the applicant, said the neighborhood will be in the northwest corner of the existing Jerome Village development. He said VN-11 was initially projected to have 171 homes, but the plans were decreased by six units.
Holtzmuller also noted that developers adjusted plans to preserve as many trees in the northwest corner of the site as possible.
The board also voted 3-0 to approve a zoning text amendment, which Zoning Inspector Eric Snowden said clarifies conditional uses in the commerce district.