WESTERVILLE — Genoa Township has its share of advisory committees, often consisting of local residents who make recommendations to the township trustees.

The township’s Communication Advisory Committee met on Jan. 12. The results of a survey noted that the township’s website was the primary source of information for residents, followed by the print newsletter and e-news. The committee adopted a motion to send to the trustees that it “supports and advocates for community informing,” meeting minutes said.

“While there is a cost to producing and distributing a hard copy newsletter, there may be a far great cost to community awareness if the newsletter were eliminated or significantly reduced.

“Therefore, we as a committee, strongly caution against eliminating or significantly reducing the print newsletter as a means of communication to the residents of Genoa Township.”

Genoa’s Police Advisory Committee met on Jan. 11. The committee consists of 18 members, including Police Chief Steve Gammill.

“Westerville got approved for 21 cameras, and (therefore) Genoa got approval to install our camera in Westerville’s Right of Way,” the minutes said. “With the new cameras, every roadway into (or out of) the Township will be covered by the camera system. Plus, the City of Columbus has 5 new Flock (brand) cameras. Having contiguous communities utilizing this same system creates a huge benefit. As long as all of the communities share their information (as expected), it will really create a comprehensive investigative network.”

The Fire/Rescue/EMS Citizen Advisory Committee met on Jan. 3 and March 7. At the first meeting, Fire Chief Joe Ponzi showed “there was a 3.2% increase in runs during 2022 over 2021.” The department had a daylong meeting with Dublin-based manufacturer Sutphen regarding its new ladder truck.

Ponzi also said they are going to ask the trustees if they can study the need for an additional station on the east side of Hoover Reservoir to address long (10-12-minute) response times.

At the March meeting, Ponzi updated the committee on state and federal grant applications. He said the trustees had agreed to study the need for an additional station so they could serve the entire township with adequate run times.

Genoa Township also has a Parks Advisory Committee. With the partnership of Maintenance Director Bob Mathews, it makes recommendations to the trustees.

For more information, visit www.genoatwp.com.

Assistant Editor Gary Budzak covers the eastern half of Delaware County and surrounding areas. He may be reached at [email protected].