Wednesday, November 16, 2022 • Vol. 15 No. 13 • FREE
Huntsburg Road Levy Passes on Third Try By Ann Wishart ann@karlovecmedia.com
Huntsburg Township’s 3-mill, five-year additional road levy passed Nov. 8 with 447 ballots cast in favor of the measure and 408 against it, according to the final unofficial results of the Geauga County Board of Elections. When informed of the levy’s passage, Trustee Nancy Saunders was very happy. “That’s wonderful. Now we’ll be able to get some things accomplished in the next few years,” she said Tuesday night. “I’m very thankful.” It was the third time trustees put a road levy in front of the voters, and it was the only additional levy on the Nov. 8 ballot. Saunders said the first was for 7 mills and the second was for 5 mills. Both failed, but 3 mills was apparently the magic number. “I was hesitant to put another levy on after two years of COVID,” she said. With about $235,461 per year more in revenue, the township will be able to afford more dust control on gravel roads and qualify for money to repave some township roads, Saunders said. One paving project on the trustees’ five-year plan will cost about $750,000, Saunders said. The township needed to have money coming in to qualify for a 0% interest loan from the Ohio Public Works Commission. The levy will provide it. The 3-mill levy will yield $235.461 per year beginning in 2023 and cost homeowners $105 per $100,000 property value, according to the Geauga County Auditor’s Office. “Thank you Huntsburg,” Saunders said. “We’ve waited a long time to get a new levy passed so we can move ahead with road repairs. The board of trustees developed a fiveyear plan. Now we may be able to move forward and achieve our goals.”
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Middlef ield GCTA Speakers Focus on Cooperation, Friendliness By Ann Wishart ann@karlovecmedia.com
Both speakers at the Geauga County Township Association meeting Nov. 9 talked about the need for residents and businesses to be cooperative and create positive, professional relationships from the first encounter. Carmella Shale, director of the Geauga County Soil and Water Conservation District, said she sees a fair amount of antipathy between neighbors and her team of seven helps to resolve issues when called on. “This past year, we’ve done a lot of technical assistance. The highest number were drainage-re-
lated,” she told the crowd of about 100 at the GCTA’s quarterly meeting at Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen in Middlefield Township. “People need to work together,” Shale said. “Everyone needs to find a way to compromise and solve the problem.” If that is not possible, the matter often ends up in a civil lawsuit, she said. Problems with drainage can be headed off if individuals and businesses are more discerning about the property they buy and what must be done to stay on the right side of Ohio’s drainage law, Shale said. “We don’t make more land,” she said, adding a lot of the de-
velopable land in Geauga County is not for sale. “What is left is not the most attractive — not so easy to develop.” The GCSWCD team sees more and more people buying land with streams or wetlands that can make the property difficult to build on or develop because of government restrictions. “People buy lots and try to slam something in there,” Shale said, recommending any property should be evaluated for government limitations before construction plans are made. Drainage infrastructure can be expensive to install. “You can build on anything — See Township • Page 4
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From left, Larry Fox, Maple Splash Raffle event chairman, Pat Preston, owner Preston Chevy, and Bob Johnson, Rotary Club of Burton Middlefield member.
The Chevy Network, Preston Chevy Donate Pickup for 2023 Maple Splash Raffle The Chevy Network and Preston Chevy once again are donating to the Rotary Club of Burton Middlefield through the Maple Splash Raffle. “We are so grateful to Pat Preston for supporting this great community,” Larry Fox, Maple Splash Raffle event founder and chairman, said. This truck, valued at more than $50,000, will headline the multi-prize/cash ticket for the raffle. Tickets will be on sale at many locations throughout Geauga County and online starting in
mid-December, and will feature Burton Middlefield Rotary’s popular monthly $1,000 cash prize drawing starting in January. Proceeds will benefit Geauga County services organizations. All organizations and businesses are invited to sponsor this event, thereby becoming a more visible member of the Geauga community. The winning tickets will be drawn at the Maple Splash Raffle Festival on July 8, 2023, at Century Village in Burton.
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