Trustees Corner – Trustee John Zaccardelli

First Energy is encouraging customers of its Ohio electric companies to evaluate offers from competitive electric suppliers. Failure to do so will result in rising energy prices this summer. Effective June 1, residential customers of First Energy will pay $12.39 cents/kwh. Sagamore Hills will be using NOPEC, which will be $6.42 cents/kwh. This is the last notice we can give with energy rates rising. Please review your options so you can select a rate that works best for you. If you want to use NOPEC, call 855-667-3201.

On April 7, the morning shift of the Sagamore Hills Police Department had a long Good Friday. The early morning began with Lt. Dan Rice assisting a DEA agent serving a warrant. Rice was just finishing when a call for mutual aid came in from Macedonia dispatch that Garfield Heights police were in pursuit of a stolen auto. The time was 6:15 a.m. Rice wanted to ensure no residents were in harms way.   He requested officers Ryan Shelby and Robert Patterson respond immediately, telling them he was en route.

The thief was heading south on N. Boyden and took a left, heading east on Rt. 82, where he proceeded to hit a pickup truck at the intersection of Olde Route 8 and Route 82. The thief continued to drive east until his auto broke down at the Dunkin’ Donuts on Route 82. The Summit County Sheriff and other departments were on the scene and officers were now in a foot chase. The thief was found lying in a bog in Northfield Center, trying to hide. He was taken into custody but his girlfriend, who was riding shotgun, eluded capture. She was last seen at the doughnut shop asking for a cigarette, before disappearing into the morning mist.

Rice stated that this case had a peculiar twist. The Summit County Sheriff took into custody the resident whose pickup truck was hit due to pending court issues. Police Chief David Hayes commended Rice and the two officers for their quick response. Hayes reminds us that we need to drive defensively, even at 6:15 a.m.

Last month’s Sagamore Voice included an article about all the equipment we use in the service department. There are five 5-ton trucks. Sagamore Hills uses four of them in the winter. The fifth is used as backup. The township has a front-end loader to fill the trucks with salt in the winter. The backhoe is used if the front-end loader breaks down. The backhoe is also used for roadside ditching. All of this equipment was purchased through the Ohio purchasing program and everything is paid for. Trustees Paul Schweikert, David DePasquale and I do not want to saddle Sagamore Hills with any long-term debt. As a result of ongoing budgeting, we can say with certainty this year and next we will have no levies of any kind on the ballot.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Memorial Day! ∞