Voters in township will elect 2 trustees from 3 candidates

Growth is on the minds of all three trustee candidates.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Voters will elect two township trustees Nov. 8.
Incumbent Bill Reese is seeking to retain his seat while two challengers, J. Randy Brashen and Bob DuKish, are vying for the seat now filled by Judy Bayus.
Bayus, who has often been at odds with the rest of the board when voting on township issues, is not running again.
Reese, who is finishing his first four-year term in public office, said he sees explosive growth in the township as a big issue.
He said the township's zoning laws are archaic, but new ones are being written. "We've updated zoning here and there, but now we're going to be more comprehensive."
And developers have to do what the township wants, he said, not the other way around.
"I know we have a nice place to live," he said. "I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible." He said he began working with developer Chuck Whitman on the Westford complex off U.S. Route 224 seven years ago. "I probably can say I helped with Westford. And that's a nice development," he said. "We have a lot of tax money coming in and no burden on the schools."
Police coverage
Reese also said he was pleased he was able to negotiate a yearly contract with the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department for police coverage. He said the coverage costs $200,000 a year, and the city of Canfield wanted five times as much to provide police protection for the township.
Reese said the library is another concern. "Ours is pathetic." Trustees are looking at helping the library to buy additional land, he said.
Creation of a township park is a priority, he said, noting that the owner of 58 acres on Herbert Road has approached him and said he'd like to see the land as a park.
"We have about $150,000 in money we have to use for open space," he said. The money is paid by developers, and he would "leverage that into the purchase of this park," he said.
He noted that he could buy part of the property where a stream runs through with a Clean Ohio grant and foresees a township building and fire station on part of the 58 acres, with about 47 acres for a park and township use. "We could build soccer fields," he said.
Exciting arena
Brashen said he entered the race because he finds the political arena to be exciting. He said he is on the board of trustees of the Cardinal Joint Fire District.
Also, he said, he is unhappy with the job Bayus is doing, and hasn't liked Bayus' arbitrary "no" votes. "She never offered reasons for them," he said.
"You do want some stirring of the pot for discussion, but you should vote in the best interest of the township, and I didn't see that," he added.
Brashen also said he sees rapid growth as an issue.
"The zoning laws are very important. Progress is going to come. Plan ahead for it, instead of dealing with it after it gets here."
Brashen said he would like to see himself and Reese as the top two vote-getters Nov. 8.
Bob DuKish said he sees himself as a penny-pincher. He said he was unhappy that trustees OK'd a $5,000 contribution toward a study by Ball State University on the future of the township. "I'm a taxpayer. I don't like it -- donating my money," he said. "I don't know it was necessary."
He said Bayus is "tight on the reins."
"She wants to rein in the spending and I think that prompts a lot of the conflict," he said, adding, "I'm pretty tight. I watch my pennies."
Against PUDs
Regarding growth, DuKish said he is against planned unit developments, which use less land for more housing units. "People have neighbors who are a little too close."
He also said he doesn't want to see industrial development in the township.
"We want Canfield to stay a nice, residential community."
Dukish said he believes regionalization is a great idea for police.
He said he sees no need for a township park. "Parks are nice, but who's going to maintain it?"