COPLEY — Copley trustees gave permission Jan. 27 for the installation of a gateway to the township sign on state Route 18, at the Miller’s Farm development.

Community and Economic Development Director Matt Springer said the cost of the stone monument sign is being shared by the township and the Copley Community Improvement Corp. (CIC). The legislation at the Jan. 27 meeting authorized the township’s $5,548 share of the cost, as well as a waiver of township Architectural Review Board fees.

The Copley Community Chamber of Commerce has also donated an additional $1,200 for installation and maintenance of landscaping around the sign.

Springer added design services were donated by a township resident and materials and construction are being provided by Tucker Sign, Bricker Construction and Copley-based Plas-TEAK Inc.

A resolution waiving Architectural Review Board fees for the CIC when considering a project for a tenant or lessee of the CIC was approved.

Trustee Jim Schulte suggested the board consider extending this waiver for CIC tenants and lessees to include all township permit fees.

Trustees also approved dissolving a one-year moratorium on outdoor advertising signs.

In other business:

• Trustees approved a $7,500 purchase order to F&M Mechanical Services to move the Magnatrack Exhaust System in the fire department station bays to accommodate a new tanker. Fire Chief Chris Bower said the work will encompass both retrofitting the bays for the tanker and performing maintenance on the entire system.

Bower extended congratulations to firefighter/medic Andrew Howell upon completion of his associate of applied science degree in EMS technology from The University of Akron.

Bower also gave an update on the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, with as many as five cases confirmed in the United States as of presstime. Bower urged residents to remain calm in light of news reports of the virus.

“[Deaths from the virus] are only 3 percent of the cases — they don’t report those who get symptoms and stay home,” Bower said. “So that number will probably [start to] drop.”

He noted that far more people die annually from influenza, such as 60,000 between 2017 and 2018.

“It’s not that we should not stay vigilant,” Bower said of the coronavirus. “But it’s not even a handful of those who die from the flu each year.”

• Police Chief Michael Mier reported a new restaurant, Kintaro, is seeking a liquor license permit. Mier said the restaurant is planned to move into Montrose Square Plaza, in the former Yellow Tail restaurant location.

He said other Kintaro Ohio locations are currently open in Brooklyn and Fairview Park, and the D5 liquor permit would be the same as other restaurants in the Montrose area have. The board asked Mier to further investigate the request and advise them.

• Service Director Mark Mitchell updated trustees on the recent installation of a street light at Dogwood Terrace and Stagecoach Trail.

Mitchell said when the streetlight was installed in November, “eight neighbors [expressed] objection to it.” Adjustments were made to the streetlight in December to lessen the amount of area of illumination.

“We made the changes and it was still not satisfactory to four [neighbors],” Mitchell said.

He asked the board for guidance on whether to keep the streetlight at the intersection or remove it.

The board asked Mitchell to continue to investigate additional calming devices to lessen the impact while maintaining the light.

• The board approved a purchase order for $262 to advertise for bids for a two-year cleaning contract for township administrative offices, as the current cleaning contract expires in March.

• Trustee Bruce Koellner updated the board on a meeting earlier in the day Jan. 27 to discuss the township’s potential police and fire facility.

Architects discussed the placement of the facility on the selected Sunnyside Street site to ensure maximum use of the site for economic development. The architect is expected to consult with his engineers and provide the trustees with an update to his contract, along with a revised timeline, as soon as possible.

• Trustees authorized a $2,500 expenditure to participate in the Ease@Work Employee Assistance Program through Summit County. Township Administrator Janice Marshall said Copley has been a part of the Ease@Work program for a number of years before partnering with Summit County.

“We’ve done this with the county for the last few years and joining the county program has saved us some money,” said Marshall. “It provides [township employees] multiple services: financial aid, stop smoking, counseling.”

Bower said he has seen the benefits of the program “firsthand” and endorses it fully.

“This is a good [program],” he said.

• Trustees accepted a $16,985 cash grant from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) to be used for energy-efficient or energy-infrastructure projects in the township.

This is the third NOPEC grant Copley has received in the past three years. Marshall said the township has escrowed its $26,000 in NOPEC grant dollars for the past two years.

“But we are only allowed to do that for two years — our [$13,000] grant award from 2017 must be used this year,” she said.

Trustees did not discuss specific plans for how to spend the grant money at the meeting.

• A neighborhood meeting for residents on Magdalyn Drive and Oaktree and Dexter roads to discuss a water extension project was scheduled for Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

The Copley trustees next will meet Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. at Copley Town Hall, located at 1540 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road.

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