By Julie D’Aloiso
Notes from the Northfield Center trustee meeting August 17th.
Police Contract
The Summit County Sheriff policing contract expires December 31st of this year. The board needs to decide what to do for next year. There is a clause in the contract that they can go month-to-month if both parties would be in agreement. According to Northfield Center Administrator Steve Wright, “the bottom line is Northfield Center does not have the funds from our levy to continue on this trajectory of what the sheriff costs.”
They did receive a response from the sheriff that said “based on the scope of work we (Northfield Center) were asking for, they could not meet that.”
Northfield Center Trustees have attempted to get more information from the sheriff about how much time are they spending in the JEDD, how much time are they spending in the community, and what is taking the majority of their time. The sheriff does provide a monthly breakdown of arrests and tickets. But the Northfield Center trustees are looking for a clear picture of how the hours are spent. If the sheriff can provide more information, maybe some negotiations can take place.
Northfield Center would like to work with Northfield Village for the policing, but the Village of Northfield’s law representative Brad Bryan stated in a letter on August 19th:
“Trustee Mazzola—I am the Law Director for the Village of Northfield, and Mayor Nehez requested me to respond to your August 18, 2020 email inquiring whether the Village has any interest in submitting a quote for policing the Township starting in 2021. While the Village appreciates you reaching out to the Mayor regarding this matter, the Village is not interested in providing police services to the Township at this time or any time in the near future. Mayor Nehez and Council want the Village Police Department to concentrate on continuing to provide the best possible service within the Village and do not feel it is in the best interests of the Village residents and property owners for the Department to expand its services and responsibilities to another community.
Mayor Nehez, Village Council, and the Village Police Department would once again like to thank you for thinking of the Village in making your request. If we can provide any other assistance to you in connection with this process aside from submitting a bid to or performing police services for the Township, please let us know.
Bradric T. Bryan”
Other communities were asked as well but Northfield Center has not received any communities that would like to work with them in regard to policing.
Fire Contract
Northfield Center Trustee Rich Reville indicated that he “had a conversation with Macedonia Mayor Nick Molnar in regard to the Fire Contract. They discussed different options. Mayor Molnar will meet with his fire chief and put some numbers together and get back with a proposal.” The Northfield Center’s current contract expires in September of 2021.
In other news:
Beacon Hill Park
They will go out for another quote on the top layer asphalt work on the tennis court. They are concerned because they are getting close to their budget.
Safety Building.
They have received 4 architects that are proposing to work on the project. Northfield Center is reviewing the proposals and is requesting more information from two of the companies about their experience and timeline.
Zoning Commission
Lisa Deluca was appointed to the zoning commission.