Wednesday, November 12, 2025 • Vol. 18 No. 13 • FREE
Parkman Township
Trustees Appoint Interim Zoning Inspector Amish Ask About Progress on Buggy Lane By Ann Wishart ann@karlovecmedia.com Parkman Township Trustees Joyce Peters and Lance Portman voted Nov. 6 to pay assistant Zoning Inspector Mark Strumbly additional wages for September and October for performing all the zoning inspector’s duties. They also voted to change his status to interim zoning inspector for November and December in 2026 and increase his part-time pay by $350 per month, said Peters. Strumbly has been assistant to Zoning Inspector John Spelich for about a year and paid $350 per month in that position, Peters said during a phone interview Nov. 7, adding Spelich is ill. “It appears Mr. Seplich is not going to be back for at least two months. Mark should be getting primary pay for all the work he’s doing,” Peters said in the trustees meeting. “(Strumbly’s) covering a lot of ground right now,” Portman add-
ed, noting he will receive mileage reimbursement. Trustee Henry Duchscherer was absent from the meeting. Early in the meeting, Peters asked Matt Yutzy, of Farmington Road, if there was any news regarding the Amish community’s campaign to find an alternate buggy lane to avoid traveling along busy U.S. Route 422. Yutzy and a committee of concerned Amish attended the Oct. 21 meeting to ask trustees to intercede on their behalf with law enforcement and the Ohio Department of Transportation. They voiced concerns about fast-moving traffic and numerous collisions, some fatal, involving horse-drawn buggies at that meeting. Yutzy, who attended last Tuesday’s meeting with members of the Amish Safety Committee, said they had been hoping for a meeting with ODOT soon. “Unfortunately, that got postponed until January,” he said. “We’re here to update you with the
nothing we have.” Peters said she was glad the safety committee is involved in the matter and said she would be happy to attend the next ODOT meeting with those involved. Reconstr uction of the second-floor porch on the front of the township community house is in the early phases, said Portman. Trustees have been discussing replacing the concrete pad at the front of the building for some time. Repairing or replacing the porch above it came up recently. “We need a structural engineer for the rest of it,” Peters said Friday. “It’s old. We want to make sure it’s safe.” Trustees are seeking a ballpark figure on the cost,
she said. So far, they have a rough plan for what they want, but need plans and an architect to work with the engineer, Portman said, adding he doesn’t expect much to happen until spring. The steel stairs at either end of the porch that serve as fire exits are rusty and unsafe, so the upstairs of the community house cannot be used, he said. The large area can accommodate up to 360 guests and trustees want to rent the space for events, but the stairs must be replaced first, said township Fire Chief Mike Komandt. Portman said he will contact the Geauga County Building Department to find out if temporary wooden steps would be permitted until the porch is rebuilt. How much reconstruction will be necessary is still up in the air, Portman said Friday. “It needs some help,” he said.
Cardinal Schools
Five-Year Forecast Shows Deficit in 2028 By Ann Wishart ann@karlovecmedia.com Cardinal Schools’ five-year forecast, like many others in Geauga County, will be impacted by a variety of influences this year — be it state legislature and governor actions, property tax income or inflation. However, one thing is certain: Cardinal Schools’ operating fund levy is set to expire in 2027 if voters decide not to renew it. If the 9.7-mill renewal levy — which yields roughly $942,000 per year — fails, the district’s general fund expenditures are projected to exceed its revenue starting some time in early 2028, according to a chart presented Oct. 8 to the Cardinal Schools Board of Education.
District Treasurer Dan Wilson presented the five-year forecast for 2026 through 2030, calling it a key tool the district uses for planning its financial future. Figures in the forecast show revenues increasing from about $14.5 million in 2026 to about $15.5 million in 2027 and 2028, then dropping back to about $15.1 million and about $15.3 million in 2029 and 2030, respectively. Expenditures, however, also increase from about $14.7 million in 2026 to roughly $15.2 million in 2027, and about $15.9 million in 2028, an estimated $16.6 million in 2029 and about $17.4 million in 2030, according to the forecast. Because the district will be spending from its unreserved general fund to make up the difference,
the balance from 2026 to 2030 will decrease from roughly $6.3 million in 2026 to about $5 million in 2030, according to the forecast. These figures assume the operating levy renewal passes, Wilson said. Legislative action at the state level will affect revenue in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, Wilson said. “The House voted in July to override one of the governor’s vetoes on levy types. The Senate has not considered this veto, yet, or if they will move to override other vetoes,” he said. “The Senate can act all the way to Dec. 31, 2026. In essence, portions of House Bill 96 may not be final until that date.” The Taxpayers FreedomTrilogy Act was introduced to the House in August. If HB 420, HB 421 and HB
422 are passed into law, they will eliminate continuing (replacement and emergency) levies, potentially set aside inside millage and create more than 50% voter approval margins for new levies, Wilson said. “All would be devastating to our local revenues we count on to educate our children,” he said. “Any changes which could be significant to state funding and property taxes will need to be watched and evaluated carefully and planned for in our forecast.” HB 96 would not increase school funding in any significant way, Wilson said. “The current state budget provided no increase in foundation funding,” he said. “More importantly, there are still 17 (12 house and See Budget • Page 3
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Community Meetings Listed are upcoming public meetings and executive sessions in Huntsburg, Middlefield and Parkman townships, the Village of Middlefield and Cardinal Schools. (Please note: These meeting notices are NOT legal notices.) Huntsburg Township: Nov. 18, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings held at the Town Hall, 16534 Mayfield Road. Middlefield Village: Nov. 13, 5:30 p.m. – Recreation, 6 p.m. – Finance & Ordinance, 6:30 p.m. – Safety, 7 p.m. – Village Council. All meetings are at the Municipal Center, 14860 N. State Ave. Parkman Township: Nov. 18, 7 p.m., Board of Trustees. All meetings are held at the Parkman Community House, 16295 Main Market Road, unless otherwise noted. Cardinal BOE: Nov. 12, 6:30 p.m., regular meeting. All meetings held at BOE Office, 15982 E. High St., Middlefield, unless otherwise indicated.
Home Delivered Holiday Meals The Geauga County Department on Aging and local Thanksgiving sponsors Cherished Companions, University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center and the Chardon VFW will offer a free traditional holiday meal to any Geauga County senior, age 60 and older, who will be home and alone on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27. There will be no regular Home Delivered Meal delivery or congregate meals on Thanksgiving. Instead, holiday meals are available by preorder only. Thanksgiving Day meal requests are due by Nov. 21. For more information or to sign up for a meal, call the department on aging at 440279-2130.
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