The July 4 holiday is a time for picnics, parties and fireworks displays, and while they are legal to set off in Ohio, fireworks can be a problem when discharged in subdivisions with homes in close proximity to each other.
That is the case for Ron Haubert and Gwendolen Neyland Haubert of Garden Creek Drive. The couple addressed the trustees at the July 16 meeting regarding a problem with a neighbor who sets off a large display each year.
The couple said debris from the display falls on their rooftop and litters the yard, leaving them with a mess to clean up. It also has gotten into pool systems, wreaking havoc with filters.
Haubert said he tried speaking with the neighbor last year and received an apology “but that was it, and they did it again this year.”
Trustee Andy Glenn explained that because the township must follow the Ohio Revised Code, the trustees are limited on what they can do.
However, he noted that if property damage occurs as a result of the display, the couple should make a list of damages and report it to the sheriff’s office or Community Resource Officer Miquael Warren.
They can then refer the report to the prosecutor’s office who takes action on the matters.
Glenn also encouraged Haubert to contact the sheriff’s office if the activity becomes drunk or disorderly, both of which can be handled by the sheriff’s office.
Other Business
In other business, the trustees:
•Spoke with Mike Pniewski, Lucas County engineer, about plans to allow for the permanent maintenance of Swan Creek and its tributaries and the cost to the township for its portion.
For Springfield, the engineer estimates the cost to be $4.9 million, and the proposed first year assessment to be collected in 2025 would be $49,880.
He said Whitehouse filed the ditch petition in March 2021 after experiencing drainage problems from rainfall.
The county engineer noted that the drainage system was created more than 100 years ago to drain the swamp and farm the fertile land. The system is old and “eventually is going to fail.”
Without a method to clean it, log jams are going to continue, he said.
He estimates 1,200 log jams in the Swan Creek watershed, noting the majority of them lie outside of the Metroparks.
•Heard from Andy Hohlbein, public services director, that the first round of mowing has been completed.
The department also did mowing and poison ivy removal from a nuisance property at 626 Lincoln Green.
•Reviewed the community service officer report for June. The department continues with the bike patrol schedule throughout the township and held an ice cream ride day at Holloway Elementary School.
•Authorized administrator Mike Hampton to move forward with a right of way vacation request submitted by Geraldine McCant-Wells at 6426 South Avenue.
•Heard from Jonathon Seeger of Lincoln Green regarding an issue with a neighbor playing his sound system so loudly that it vibrates items in his house.
Glenn said there is nothing they can do regarding the noise since townships, by statute, cannot pass ordinances.
He advised the property owner to contact the sheriff’s department if it continues and they could file a disorderly charge against the neighbor if the problem continues.
•Paid bills from July 2 to 16 totaling, $1,3 million, including $1.15 million to the Lucas County sheriff’s office for police protection service.
They also approved electronic payments of $392,549, which includes the biweekly payroll of $292,445 and the elected and appointed officials pay of $11,521.
The next trustees meeting will be at 5 p.m., Tuesday, August 6, in the township meeting hall, 7617 Angola Road, and is open to the public.
