At the December 19, 2016 meeting of the Staunton Township Trustees, the trustees approved a new three-year contract with the Casstown Fire Department. The new contract is a renewal of the current contract with no changes. Casstown Fire Chief Chad Loy reported that the fire department is looking at purchasing a new grass rig sometime in the next three to five years. He said, “When we get ready to make the purchase we will probably ask for a one time contribution to help purchase the rig.” He also introduced is Assistant Chief Jason Potter. He added, “We want to establish more and better communications between the fire department and the township; therefore, I am asking Potter to attend your meetings on a regular basis.”

The trustees unanimously approved the new contract and look forward to working more closely with the Casstown Fire Department.

With the winter weather over the last week, the township received a couple of complaints about the road conditions. Darrell Hummel of Valley View called several times to complain about the road conditions on Valley View and Crestwood. However, both Trustee Bill Gearhart and Trustee Jeff Cron salted and plowed the area several times. Because of the shadows in the area and low traffic volume, the salt was not as effective as it was in sunny and more highly traveled areas in the township. Cron said, “The road conditions were some of the worst conditions that I have seen in my years of service to the township.”

Gearhart also reported that a resident who lives on Farver Drive south of Eldean asked him whether the township would consider either blacktopping or chipping and sealing the road. Gearhart notified the resident that the township does not have the funds to provide that service for what is essentially a private drive. The road is only a single lane and dead ends. Gearhart contacted Assistant Prosecutor Chris Englert to investigate abandoning the road and turning it over to the property owners. The township cannot plow the road because it is a single lane and there is no place to turn around. Englert initially indicated that it is possible for the township to abandon the road; however, a request would need to be made to the County Commission. Gearhart will follow up with the Assistant Prosecutor.

The township has received another complaint about junk on a property on Orbison. Gearhart will notify the property owner to clean it up. If no action is taken, the township will notify the Health Department.

Finally, the trustees requested that property owners make sure that no vehicles are sitting in the roadway in bad weather. If vehicles remain in the roadway, the owners run the risk of damage to their property when the trustees plow.

The next meeting of the Staunton Township Trustees is scheduled for January 2, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the township building.