New Boardman trustees meet with officials

By Denise Dick

The incoming trustees want to hit the ground running Jan. 1, one of them said.

BOARDMAN — Township Trustees-elect Thomas Costello and Brad Calhoun don’t take office until January, but they’re already meeting with department heads to learn about the state of the township.

The two trustees-elect and Trustee Larry Moliterno plan to meet this morning with department heads at the Holiday Inn.

Costello and Calhoun, elected earlier this month, take office next year.

Costello classified the meetings as “informational.” He said they plan to meet for about 45 minutes each with fire Chief James Dorman, police Chief Jack Nichols, Larry Wilson, road superintendent; and Benjamin Breniman, planning and zoning director.

“Absolutely no decisions are going to be made,” Moliterno said.

Moliterno said the Holiday Inn was selected as the meeting location rather than the township government center so that the attendees could eat breakfast during the session. And, he added, the township’s not paying.

Township Administrator Jason Loree also is likely to attend a portion of the morning, Moliterno said.

Because neither Costello nor Calhoun is in office, the meeting doesn’t violate the state’s open meetings law, commonly called the Sunshine Law, Moliterno said.

“The Open Meetings Act applies to members of a public body when they are conducting the public’s business, which they must do in the context of an open meeting,” according to Ohio Sunshine Laws, an Open Government Resource Manual 2009, provided by Attorney General Richard Cordray and Auditor Mary Taylor.

It defines a meeting as a “prearranged gathering” of a “majority of members of a public body” for the “purpose of discussing public business.”

Costello said the meeting is so that the incoming trustees can meet the department heads. Breniman is the only department head new to the township since Costello, who served from 1999 to 2005, left office.

“For four years, I tried to stay out of the way of the elected officials,” he said. “Did I speak to them? Sure, several of them I consider friends, but I need brought up to speed on issues that may have developed in the last four years since I’ve been gone.”

A lot has changed at the township since December 2005, Costello said: The police department is down from 63 officers to 47, one fire station is closed, the road department is down eight employees and its compost site closed.

Calhoun needs to be introduced to all of the department heads and they to him, Costello said.

“On Jan. 1, we need to be able to start to make a difference,” he said.

Today’s meeting will provide the opportunity to gather information to start to be able to do that.

“This will allow them to hit the ground running on Jan. 1,” Moliterno said.

Some tough decisions face the new board as cuts are expected to be needed in order to balance the township budget.

Costello views the meeting as a positive for the community.

“I think the fact that one trustee and the two trustees-elect are talking is an improvement over what we’ve had recently,” he said. “There has been a definite lack of open and honest communication among the current board.”

Calhoun said that while he’s met some of the department heads, those discussions have been informal.

Today’s meetings will allow the four department heads to explain their individual departments and their concerns, he said. The meeting will be an opportunity for “information gathering,” Calhoun said.

He doesn’t believe it would be right to meet at the government center out of respect for the sitting board.

“We’re not taking over until January,” Calhoun said.

denise_dick@vindy.com