BROOKFIELD TWP. Fire victim wants street to be paved

Brookfield wants neighboring Yankee Lake to pay more for fire protection.
By MIKE VAN CLEAVE
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BROOKFIELD -- After the township announced streets to be paved this year, a house fire victim expressed his dissatisfaction that Brightview Street isn't among them.
Michael Hodil pulled the ace bandages off his hands and displayed his burns Monday to the panel of trustees.
"This is because the [fire] truck couldn't get through," he said. "Because of the road condition I have to replace most of my house."
The Brookfield fire department was slowed from getting to the fire at Hodil's Brightview Street home Jan. 16 by poor road conditions and scattered debris left on the sides of the road by another Brightview resident, Fire Chief Keith Barrett said.
To be paved
Among streets on the list to be paved are Ohio, Henry, Roberts, and Dutch Lane. Trustees and Barrett expressed regret that Brightview isn't on the list, but explained that Brookfield Township didn't have the money to pave it, along with the other streets that need attention.
"The whole thing is a bad situation," Barrett said. "It would cost over $110,000 to bring the [Brightview Street] road up to standards to be paved."
In other business, Brookfield will not be applying for state Issue 2 funding to pave North State Line Road this year. Road Superintendent Jamie Fredenburg said Brookfield and Sharon, Pa., would have only had to pay for 16 percent of the paving costs under state Issue 2 funding, but Sharon isn't eligible for funding from Ohio.
"Basically the project is going down the tubes because Sharon doesn't have the money to pay for it this year," he said.
The cost of paving the road, which runs through Brookfield and Sharon, would be in excess of $200,000, Fredenburg said. He said he'll have to sit down with Sharon officials and discuss other options.
Yankee Lake
Trustees also decided to send a letter to Yankee Lake Mayor John Jurko to request he attend a March meeting to discuss enacting a significant tax increase on Yankee Lake residents for fire and EMS protection.
Barrett said Yankee Lake residents receive the same protection from Brookfield fire and EMS that Brookfield residents do, but they pay 6.7 mills less.
He estimated that increasing Yankee Lake's millage from 0.7 to equal the 7.4 mills that Brookfield residents pay would increase the township's yearly income by $15,000.