Township to Make Staffing Changes Following Passing of Service Director and Road Superintendent Rick Youel
By Emily Chesnic
Northfield Center Township is moving ahead with Infinity Construction Co, of Warrensville Heights, for the design of the community’s new safety building to house the fire department, police operations and township administration offices.
At the March 1 regular meeting, the trustees awarded a contract to Infinity, in the amount of $46,400, to perform the engineered schematic design phase of the project, with the phase to take about a month and a half.
The phase will include a survey of existing conditions on site, soil testing, a utility plan, floor plans, specifications, landscape design, team meetings, and the determination of a final cost amount for the project, Infinity staff members have said.
The township plans to construct the safety building on the site of the township’s current service yard, just off Olde Eight Road, to replace the existing fire station, 60 W. Aurora Road, and Town Hall, 9546 Brandywine Road.
At a special meeting Feb. 22, the trustees heard ideas from Infinity Construction Co. and Regency Construction Services, Inc., of Brook Park, for the new facility, ultimately deciding a couple of weeks later it was best for the township to work with Infinity.
Infinity has proposed the safety building be a metal facility, about 11,065 square foot in size, with areas for the fire station, township offices and police offices, a kitchen, weight room, storage area, decontamination area, bay for fire vehicles, a transition space from the hot zone to the cold zone to keep firefighters safe from contaminants, a turnout gear room, dayroom, and privacy room with bunkbeds.
The township will know the exact placement of the building in about six weeks, as well as more details on the entrance and exit to the structure, said the trustees.
The trustees also intend to adopt legislation soon, approving a contract to retain Josh Lyons of The Trasher Group, the architectural firm that provided the township with the preliminary sketches for the new building.
The township also is meeting with individuals concerning ideas for the existing fire station property, reported the trustees.
Township Service Department
A moment of silence was held at the start of the March 1 regular meeting for the loved ones of Service Director and Road Foreman Rick Youel, 44, who unexpectedly passed away due to natural causes on Feb. 8.
Acting Service Director Frank Buehner said the past three weeks have been “tough,” following the loss of Youel, who was a lifelong township resident and began working for the township full-time in 1994.
“We are still struggling and trying to move forward here in the service department, but it is really hard,” he told the trustees.
He reported on the work the department has accomplished this month, including snow plowing, hole patching, branch removal and more.
The trustees’ meeting agenda listed staffing changes to approve for the department. However, it was decided to schedule an executive session on the matter. Trustee Paul Buescher was ready to act on the items but ultimately agreed the proposed staffing changes could be talked about more in depth outside of a regular meeting.
The trustees are considering naming Buehner the service department manager/supervisor and promoting Mark Frank to the position of service department foreman, among other changes.
Other Meeting News:
• The trustees officially adopted the 2021 permanent appropriations in the amount of $6.82 million.
• The trustees approved purchasing a park bench for Memorial Park in the City of Macedonia in the amount of $3,500.
• The trustees discussed the possibility of slowing traffic down and placing speed humps on Beechwood Drive, Marwyck Drive and Springwood Road, with the humps to be removed annually ahead of snow and ice removal operations in the township.
• The trustees learned law enforcement officials responded to 389 calls for service in the township in February.
• The trustees announced the township now is working to address flooding issues in the Crestwood Park area.