Township to unveil new website

by Dan Holland

May 4 township trustees meeting

Residents of Richfield Township will soon have access to an updated and revamped township website. Designed by Revize, the new website was paid for using American Rescue Plan Act funds the township received in 2021-2022. The current website, which was developed more than ten years ago, is outdated, according to Township Administrator Mindy Lott.

“It’s difficult to find archived agendas and meetings and other information, and the calendar of events is not very useful,” said Lott. “It’s not laid out in a way in which people can find it useful to find information. Plus, it looks like it’s from the 1990s, and it’s fairly difficult to update. We will be able to update the new website much easier.”

Lott and Zoning Inspector Patricia Ryan will receive training in the use of the new website from Revize in mid-June. The website will include a newly designed township logo and photos from around the community, and a notification system for emergencies and other pertinent information that residents will be able to opt into. An option that would allow for processing of online credit card payments to pay fees for zoning permits and road openings may also be included at some point, said Lott.

An ongoing annual cost for the website software subscription, hosting, unlimited support, and email alerts totals $2,000.

Waste hauling replacement levy passes

Voters approved the township’s 1.1-mill waste-hauling replacement levy at the May 2 ballots. Final tallies from the Summit County Board of Elections show 135 votes in favor of the levy (89.4%) and 16 opposed (10.6%). Township Fiscal Officer Laurie Pinney expressed her gratitude to residents for passing the issue. Last September, the trustees approved a three-year solid waste and recycling contract through Rumpke with an available two-year extension, in tandem with Richfield Village.

“That levy is such a great benefit to the residents because we get such a better deal on waste hauling than people can get if they go out on their own,” said Pinney. “We get a better price; we get fewer trucks on our roads and less noise by having a structured pickup schedule that covers one day a week for each area. … It’s a win-win for everyone and we’re really happy that it passed.”

Pinney also noted that the township received more than $7,000 in interest income in April through a State Treasury Asset Reserve of Ohio (STAR) account, which the township began moving assets into after the trustees approved the move at their March 2 meeting.

Parks

Trustee Vice-Chair Don Laubacher, who is liaison to Richfield Joint Recreation District, noted that the new Strategic Plan for Richfield Heritage Preserve was approved during the April meeting of the RJRD board. A gifting of Rising Valley Park by trustees to the Cleveland Metroparks in November 2021 included $30,000 of in-kind services from the Cleveland Metroparks, which was used in part to facilitate the new plan, he said. The plan included input from the RJRD board, park director, representatives of Cleveland Metroparks and the National Park Service, park volunteer groups and the public.

“I think this plan moves them in a good direction mainly because the structures in that park – with there being so many of them – have always been a bone of contention,” said Laubacher. “The plan prioritizes ten structures that they absolutely want to keep, six or so that they want to absolutely get rid of, and then the rest – if they can come up with a plan for their use, then they’ll keep them. If they can’t, then they’ll eventually be taken down. So, I think it’s good that they have a clear plan now on how to proceed.”

 In other business, the trustees:

• Approved $3,152 payment to Summit County Engineers for first quarter fuel usage.

• Approved $43,525 payment to Broadview Heating & Air Conditioning, taken from federal ARPA funds, $2,595 taken from the general fund and $4,613 taken from the roads fund for installation of a whole-building generator. Funds of $7,208 from a NOPEC Energized Community Grant will be used to reimburse the general and roads funds.

• Approved a motion to switch internet usage from Windstream to Spectrum at a cost of $1,280 to cover monthly costs through 2023. The switch will save the township approximately $50 per month, according to Lott.

• Appointed Mindy Lott to serve as authorized representative for the National Opioids Settlement Disbursement plan.

Announcements

The June and July township trustee meetings will be combined on June 22 at 6:30 at the Township Administration and Service Department Building located at 3038 Boston Mills Rd. ∞