CANFIELD TWP. Trustee votes no to bids for repaving

The trustee said she wanted to see time sheets for the road department.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Township Road Superintendent Gary Cook says Fairway and McCarty drives most likely won't be repaved as planned this summer because Trustee Judy Bayus voted against seeking bids for the work.
Cook said he believes state law requires a unanimous vote by trustees to approve a road improvement project.
Township Clerk Carmen Heasley said she will review the law to determine if Cook is correct.
On Monday, trustees voted 2-1 to seek bids to repave Fairway and McCarty drives, which were the only two roads included in the township's repaving program this year. The township typically repaves about two miles of road each year, Cook said.
Trustees Paul Moracco and William Reese voted to approve a verbal resolution to seek bids, while Bayus was opposed.
"I think it sucks," Moracco said later. Reese added, "I concur."
Bayus said she believed trustees should vote on a written, not verbal, resolution to seek bids. She also wanted to pay for the project using license plate tax revenue, instead of transferring general fund money into the road department account as proposed by Reese and Moracco.
Reese and Moracco said they wouldn't go to court over the vote.
Cost estimate
Cook estimated that the projects would cost about $80,700; Heasley said the township has about $23,954 left in license plate tax money after paying for road salt this winter.
Heasley also noted that even if the roads are not repaved, she expects the township to have about $3 million to $3.5 million left in carry-over funds at the end of this year.
"We want to know why she won't invest in our infrastructure when we have substantial funds in the bank," Cook said.
"The residents will be happy to know their money is being well cared for by the bank."
On Monday, Bayus also told Heasley she wants to see the time sheets for road department employees.
Cook said he had been supplying Bayus with his time sheets until four to six weeks ago, when he became concerned that the time sheets contained information that was confidential under state insurance regulations.
Some of his time sheets listed the names of doctors he visited and the reasons for those visits when he took sick time, Cook said. He said he now gives the sheets to Heasley, who then blacks out the doctor information before providing it to trustees.
Bayus, however, said past road department time sheets did not include doctor information.
hill@vindy.com