WESTERVILLE — The Genoa Township Board of Trustees was very active in the last half of 2023, and here’s an overview of those meetings:
• At the June 1 meeting, Lt. James McMillin Jr. was promoted to the position of deputy chief of police; Lauren Fitzpatrick was promoted to deputy director of roads, buildings and grounds; and retiring Office Assistant Dawn Durbin was thanked for her service. The trustees allowed the operation of private golf carts on the streets of the Willow Bend subdivision. A one-year extension was granted for the Nest at Hoover development due to market conditions and sewer costs.
• A special meeting was held June 14 to award a bid for the demo project of the old police station to Greenhaus Construction Company for $113,757.
• On July 6, there was discussion of the Parks levy that would be on the November ballot, and its priorities of restoring the old township hall, improving the stream at Center Green Park, water playscape at McNamara Park, playground replacement, trail connections. The trustees also approved a joint contract with Liberty and Orange townships for trash collection by Rumpke of Ohio, Inc.
• Asphalt bids were awarded at the Aug. 3 trustee meeting. They also purchased a parcel of property on Lewis Center Road that has a Galena address; and granted an easement on South Old 3C Highway in Westerville to AEP Ohio.
• A zoning hearing for the Miraluna subdivision as requested by Romanelli and Hughes took place on Aug. 9. This was continued on Sept. 7, Oct. 5 and Dec. 18.
• A presentation on the Enterprise Fleet Management lease program was given at a special meeting on Aug. 24, which was approved by the trustees.
• There was a new Police Department position created at the Sept. 7 meeting, IT/Program Manager, and Michael Riehle was appointed (he later retired as detective). Deputy Police Chief Russ Ciballi retired after more than 28 years of service to the township.
• Life Saving Awards were presented at the outset of the Oct. 5 meeting to firefighters/paramedics Anthony Criss, Ron Deloizer and Michael Gerty for their actions during a cardiac incident on July 21, 2023.
• A special meeting in executive session took place on Oct. 23 for negotiation with public employees and to consider the purchase of property.
• Police Chief Stephen Gammill announced his upcoming retirement at the Nov. 2 trustee meeting. The trustees also accepted two first responder grants.
• Another special meeting was held in executive session on Nov. 21, regarding personnel issues and lawsuit discussion. The following week, Nov. 28, was another special meeting, this time on the 2024 appropriation budget.
• James McMillin was appointed Genoa Township chief of police at the Dec. 7 meeting, and collective bargaining agreements with the police department from Jan. 1, 2024 — Dec. 31, 2025, were approved, as well as the firefighters during that same period. A tradition with retiring police officers to buy back their guns for a dollar was granted.
• Two meetings took place on Dec. 18. First, master service agreement amendments with Archer Energy, LLC were approved. An hour later, the Miraluna rezoning and preliminary development plan hearing resumed. The applicant made a presentation, and 11 members of the public gave their comments. Each trustee had questions, and then there was a divergence review. By a 2-1 vote, the trustees said that the preliminary development plan was “found to be consistent with the Genoa Township Comprehensive Plan,” the minutes said.
• Lastly, there was a Dec. 29 special meeting for year-end financials, and 2023 supplemental appropriations were approved retroactively.
The trustees are Chair Renee Vaughan, Vice Chair Mark Antonetz and Connie Goodman. Patrick Myers is the fiscal officer. Also present at the meetings are Township Administrator Paul Wise, Director of Human Resources Linda Greco, Director of Zoning & Development Joe Shafer, Director of Roads Buildings and Grounds Bob Mathews, Fire Chief Joe Ponzi, Fire Battalion Chief Corey Weekly and Assistant Fiscal Officer Donna Batten.
For more information, visit www.genoatwp.com.
Assistant Editor Gary Budzak photographs and reports on stories in eastern Delaware County and surrounding areas.
