April 2026
NEWTON TOWNSHIP MINUTES 4-14-2026
Newton Township Trustees met in regular session on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Those in attendance were Fire Chief, Craig Knox ; Larken Slack, Derek Dozer and Randy Elson; Township Trustees and Paula Frank, Fiscal Officer. Also in attendance were Township residents: Sam Lantz, Brandon Stackhouse, Kent Cornett, Shane Stephenson, Jill Beckert, and Nathan Beckert.
Meeting was called to order by Trustee Dozer at 6:00 pm.
Pledge to the flag was led by Derek Dozer.
Agenda: approved.
Minutes: approved.
Public Participation:
· Kent Cornett – ditches on Foxfire need smoothed out a bit where an AEP subcontractor put trucks in the ditches.
· Shane Stephenson – culvert on Stine before Nutter Road– culvert needs some attention. Water was running out onto the road the last big rain we had. At the Springfield / Newton township line, on Foxfire, it is softening really bad.
· Jill Beckert attended the meeting and was here regarding an email she sent regarding hazardous property located at 4325 Roseville Road (old bar on 93). This property sustained significant damage during the wind storm last year and has not been repaired. Metal from the roof and other building materials are loose and landowner is concerned these items will come loose and cause harm to property or individuals. Chief Knox replied to her email and let Ms. Beckert know that the fire department has been in contact with the County to remediate this issue. At the meeting, Craig stated the property is going up for Sheriff’s sale the end of this month. The Trustees stated that their hands are tied until the sale is final since ownership is in limbo until the sale.
Fire Department Business:
· There were 149 dispatched calls in March – 102 in Muskingum County and 47 in Perry County. Averaging just over 4 calls per day.
· There were 10 call-offs which led to one un-covered shift for the month.
· Craig has had contact with GovDeals which is a way for governments to sell unwanted property. It is like an online auction. Any fees incurred by GovDeals are paid by the buyer at the time of sale. They can put reserves in so they are sure they are receiving the base amount they want to receive. The buyer for all items will have to come to the fire department to receive the items they purchase. Craig is asking for permission to sell surplus equipment via GovDeals. He is specifically thinking about the Medic that they will be selling this summer. The Trustees all agreed to allow Craig to enter into an agreement with GovDeals. Derek asked that they do it as Newton Township so the garage can take advantage of this selling platform as well.
· Mason Deaver had asked about purchasing some updated gym equipment under their wellness program. While Craig was out of town last month, they came across a deal at Academy Sports for $485 off the price of the equipment. Wes Kelly’s mother-in-law actually purchased the equipment, possibly with her employee discount, so Craig is asking if we are allowed to reimburse her, minus the sales tax. It is kettle bells, weighted vests, etc. No machines were purchased. The Trustees agreed to reimbursee for that.
· They need to purchase 10 sets of turn-out gear at a price of $4,015 one set of coats and pants - $40,150.00 for all ten. Derek passed a motion to purchase the gear. Randy seconded the motion. Motion carried.
· Air bags on the Rescue have reached the end of their life. They are 20 years old. A set of 8 air bags is $6,431.05. Derek made a motion to purchase the air bags. Randy seconded the motion. Motion carried.
· The Rescue has cross trays for hose lines. When they come back from a fire, they have to unload the trays and clean everything every time. They would like to have a second set of trays that are pre-loaded so when they come back from a fire, there are trays ready to re-stock the Rescue. Derek asked if having that second set of trays was going to push that chore off onto someone else later and cause issues with the crew. Craig said it would depend on the time that the fire happens and if the current duty crew has time to re-load and clean. If that hose isn’t cleaned, the truck is out of service. The cost is $4,299 for three trays. Derek made a motion to purchase the hose trays. Larken seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Assistant Chief: None.
Road Report:
· Replaced a mailbox.
· Have filled lots of pot holes.
· They had to have a switch replaced on the skid steer.
· The field along Crock Road has been graded back and all fixed.
· Trash on Yost has been cleaned up. Looked to house remodeling materials but also a mailbox with an address on it. They gave the information to the Sheriff’s office when they gave the report for the littering.
· Worked on Holbert and Tipton with the grader. Will need to do some ditching soon.
· Cleaned up brush on Rucker and Ford from the storms.
Old Business:
· Sealed Truck Bids Opened
o Kenworth - $137,250.00
o Fyda Freightliner – Freightliner Truck - $115,273.16
o Fyda Freightliner – Western Star Truck - $140,070.04
o International Truck - $122,487.39
· Derek explained to the public in attendance that we are in a tight spot with the possible elimination of property taxes so they are pricing a truck to replace a very old rusty truck that is costing a lot to maintain.
· Larken said the current International is running on borrowed time and isn’t really street legal. He also stated we don’t want to sit on it for too long, because of how long it will take to get a truck built. Jason said the truck would be two months out and the blade is two months out.
· There was discussion about the different truck manufacturers and what would work best on narrow roads, etc. Larken said in his research that Kenworth is the better build and just a better truck in general. International has issues with motors, in the last few years.
· Derek made a motion to go forward with the Kenworth at the price of $137,250.00 based on factors other than the lowest price. Randy seconded the motion. Motion carried. Fiscal Officer asked if the plan was to still take money out of paving dollars to pay “cash” for this truck. All Trustees agreed that was the plan.
New Business:
· Larken submitted storm damage estimates were turned into County EMA - $4,135.00.
· Craig – gave a recap of his meeting with the State legislators. They have capped inside millage and they have made it to where when property values are raised on assessments, that the amount of tax revenue increased for that property cannot exceed the cost-of-living increase for the current inflation rate. They said that it would take 1 to 2 years for them to try to come up with a solution. The State said they don’t receive property tax money, the local governments do, so they are saying it isn’t their problem. There is no plan on generating the revenue or how to disperse the revenue.
Trustees Reports:
Elson –
· Ford and Lower Kroft need ditching work.
Dozer –
· Tom Bash – questioning the process of getting a “road” taken over by the Township – going up Crock Road and the road shoots to the right.
· Legacy Realty on Trouble Lane would like the Township to take over the maintenance of that road. Derek told him it would cost $100,000 to bring that up to standards.
· Derek received a call about a resident on Butler Road by Carter Lumber – Wisecarver – they have trash piled to the ceiling and would like a letter sent to get the trash cleaned up. Larken said he will stop and talk to them.
· Robert Sargent called about potholes on Butcherknife
· Kayla Anthony – building a barn – had some questions
· Frank Wiseman – zoning issue
· Teresa Barnes – Workman – wash-boarding
· 3570 Dona Drive – Jim Anderson – culvert was replaced last fall – Jason had told them he would clean up the dirt that was left over. Dirt and debris still there. Derek asked Jason to check it out.
· Tina Engle – Ruraldale – drainage issue. Jason said they have to find out where that water goes once it goes into the catch basin.
Slack –
· Larken wanted to discuss where they might be paving this year.
· Teresa Wise in Avondale was having drainage issues on Butler. Jason has check that out. Uphill from Mary Jo Hicks is Teresa Wise – the water was not draining because Teresa (maybe) had plugged the drain pipe because she didn’t want the water running into her yard.
· Tyler Marcum – Dona Drive – culvert in his yard.
· Eric Clark on Crock Road – across from the loggers, wanted to know if they need building permits to build a house.
Fiscal Officer Report:
· Distributed Grassroots Clippings
· FO Distributed letter from Englefield Oil notifying of a price increase effective in April of this year.
· FO presented the 2026 ODOT salt contract resolution for signature. Resolution and order are due by May 1st. How many tons of salt do we need to order – 450 ton.
· FO distributed the property statement of values from OTARMA to be submitted back to them so our annual fees can be established. Gave to Trustees and Fire Chief so values can be updated if needed.
· The township has received a payment from the MCSO for $477.54 from the Christopher Cannon property at 5100 Limestone Valley Road (Parcel # 47-22-03-05-001), to go towards the cost of removing junk motor vehicles from the property in the fall of 2025.
· FO contacted Huntington regarding early payoff of the two outstanding leases for the backhoe and skid steer. Eddie Baumann with Huntington emailed back and stated that we will not be able to pay off these leases until next year. The Master Lease Agreement requires any early payoff to occur on a principal payment date and we must give 90 days-notice. For an early payoff, the Township would owe 1) outstanding principal and 2) any accrued interest up until the payoff date. Schedule 005 (the 2023 Case Backhoe) could prepay on June 1, 2027 as long as the Township gives a 90-day notice. The estimated payoff amount would be $29,331.44. The Schedule 006 (the Skid Steer) has a final payment due on May 6, 2027, with the final payment being $24,026.47.
· We missed the 90-day notification date for the backhoe by a few weeks or we could have paid that off this year.
· FO asked for a board vote to pursue the Insured Cash Sweep (ICS) with Huntington, if they would like to open that account to build some interest on our money. Derek made a motion to proceed with the ICS. Randy seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Trustee Dozer made a motion to pay bills. Trustee Elson seconded the motion. Motion carried.
All bills presented were deemed to be valid expenditures and were to be paid as presented.
The next monthly meeting will be held on May 12, 2026 at 6:00 pm.
Meeting adjourned at 8:06 pm.
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