Township budget approved; government campus to expand

by Laura Bednar

June 30 township trustees meeting

Bath Township trustees approved a $19.28 million budget for 2026. 

Money in the general fund will pay for replacing computers, heat pump replacements at the Bath Center Building, police and fire retirement funds, JEDD rural preservation, upgrades to Bath Community Park and improvements to the North Fork Preserve barn, which will be used for public meetings and events.

The police budget includes money for computers, three new cruisers and an increase in full-time wages. The fire department’s budget includes a wage increase and protective clothing. The service department plans for culvert pipe replacements and road construction projects. The parks department plans to upgrade Bath Community Park, improve the North Fork Preserve barn, trails and rehab athletic fields.

Township Administrator/Police Chief Vito Sinopoli said Bath has no outstanding debt.

Trustee Sharon Troike voiced her issues with Summit County’s financial processes. She said the county received a grant from the state to create a land bank so the county can reimburse a township for razing a nuisance house. 

Troike said the Summit County Fiscal Office skims a portion of a township’s special levy money to fund the land bank. Consequently, not all money from a township’s specific ballot issue reaches the township. She added that “70% of homes addressed by the land bank were in Akron.”

When Bath receives its property tax settlement from the county, fees are skimmed off the top, but Troike said no county official could tell her the formula for tax collection fees. Finally, she took issue with the Summit County Public Health department charging fees based on income instead of population. “I don’t think that’s fair,” said Troike.

Campus expansion

Trustees approved purchasing property at 1170 N. Cleveland-Massillon Rd. to expand the township government campus. Sinopoli said Bath expanded the police building in the 1990s and needed to find areas the police could move to if the campus expands. “It’s important to look at the growth in the township,” said Sinopoli. “Staying in close proximity to the Bath Center Building is important.” 

The property is just over 3 acres and is south of Bath’s recycling center at 1188 N. Cleveland Massillon Rd. Troike explained that the township cannot expand down West Bath Road because of Bath Elementary School traffic.

Stormwater projects

David Koontz, project manager and surface water management district coordinator with the Summit County Engineer’s office, gave an update on surface water projects in Bath.

The Wye Road flood mitigation drainage improvement project is 95% complete, according to Koontz, with only grass reseeding remaining. The county engineer’s office obtained a United States Army Corps of Engineers permit for the Idle Brook Bankfull Wetlands project, which would install wetlands along Yellow Creek, West Fork and Idle Brook to intercept excess stormwater, mitigate flooding and increase Yellow Creek water quality. Koontz said the soil and material excavated to create the wetlands would be deposited on nearby land owned by First Energy.

The county engineer will use American Rescue Plan Act money to create a wetland at an I-77 south rest area. Design is underway and construction is scheduled for this fall, at the start of the southbound lanes’ reconstruction. Koontz said the sidewalk and picnic tables at the rest area will be removed and the stream will be reshaped. There will be educational signs about the stream.

Zoning membersTrustees approved the following appointments to the Bath planning and zoning boards: Emily Hete, regular zoning commission member through July 1, 2030; Kyle Craven, zoning commission regular member through July 1, 2028; Kristin Sanchez, zoning commission as alternate member No. 1 through July 1, 2027; Tyler Bolanz, zoning commission alternate member No. 2 through July 1, 2026; Tim Franklin, board of zoning appeals regular member through July 1, 2030; Tom Flynn, board of zoning appeals alternate member No. 1 through July 1, 2027;  Jason Boltz, appearance review commission regular member through July 1, 2030; and Elizabeth Smith, appearance review commission alternate member No. 1 through July 1, 2027.