The Springfield Township trustees opened 2024 with the swearing in of Trustee Andy Glenn for his sixth term.
At the January 8 meeting, Trustee Tom Anderson Jr. administered the oath of office to his fellow trustee.
Afterward, the trustees elected Mr. Glenn as chairman of the board. Mr. Anderson will serve as vice chair.
Jacob Barnes, planning director, delivered his report on zoning activity in December along with the 2023 report. “For December, it was a pretty busy month. It’s typically the slowest time,” he said. “I hope the activity continues into the new year.”
Last month, the department issued 19 permits and collected fees of $2,010.
Permits were issued for signage and fencing, four apiece; followed by new dwellings, three; new occupant, remodel and zoning compliance letters, two each, and addition and commercial variance, one apiece.
Mr. Barnes summarized permits for 2023. “We had another solid year, issuing 282 permits, up from 264 in 2022.”
The department authorized 15 permits for new dwellings in 2023 which was down from 30 the year prior.
“The new dwelling decrease was likely because of the economic conditions over the past year, including inflation, high building material costs and increased interest rates,” he said.
Last year, the department reviewed nine zoning change requests including one request for 76 parcels. They also processed one text amendment.
In addition, nine variance/ appeal requests and two conditional use requests were handled.
Regarding zoning violations, Mr. Barnes said the department processed 69, which was up for from 46 in 2022. “The vast majority have been taken care of,” he added.
At the planning director‘ s request, the trustees approved the zoning fee schedule for 2024. “There are no changes to fees this year,” Mr. Barnes said.
He concluded his report, noting that the board of zoning appeals was scheduled to meet on January 16 to review a variance request submitted by Allan Wiley for side yard landscaping setback for Chick-fil-A, 6720 Airport Highway.
Other Business
In other business, the trustees:
•Approved a joint agreement with Lucas County for resurfacing of Timber Ridge estates, Wexford and Angola at Holland Sylvania roads.
Angola Road, 0.12 miles west of Holland Sylvania to Holland Sylvania, will be resurfaced along with Holland Sylvania from Merger Drive to 0.05 miles north of Angola Road.
Wexford plats one to three and Timber Ridge plats one to four also will be resurfaced
•Entered into a joint cooperation agreement with Lucas County for township drainage improvements in 2024 and 2025. The current project estimate for both years is $107,000.
•Heard from administrator Mike Hampton that there have been some leadership changes at the Lucas County sheriff’s office but Lieutenant John Leach will remain with the township.
However, the township resource officer Aalea Robertson has been reassigned to the county jail. Mr. Hampton expects a new resource officer to be in place by February 1.
•Authorized Mr. Hampton to interview candidates to replace Bob Bethel on the joint economic development zone board. Mr. Bethel stepped down as trustee last month.
•Paid bills from January 1 to 8 of $89,035 which includes a payment of $40,895 to the Village of Holland for a revenue sharing agreement. They also approved electronic payments from January 1 to 4 of $369,216 including the biweekly payroll of $290,198.
•Entered into executive session to consider candidates for the open trustee seat vacated by Mr. Bethel, but took no action afterward.
Mr. Glenn noted that per state law, the board has 30 days to fill the vacancy and unexpired term ending December 31, 2025.
Whoever is selected will be required to run for office, if they seek to be on the board beyond 2025. The next trustees meeting will be at 5 p.m., Monday, January 22, at the township meeting hall, 7617 Angola Road, and is open to the public.
