[ back ]
Township Trustees are moving on without administrator
(by Joan Demirjian - January 13, 2010)
Township Trustees are moving on without administrator
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
With many projects in the works for Bainbridge, Township Trustees will be figuring out which ones they will follow up on and who will take them over.
Former township Administrator and Zoning Inspector Michael Joyce, who was working on them, was not reappointed Jan. 4 and is no longer with the township.
The projects include everything from the township's new memorial park, Town Hall renovations and geothermal heating for township buildings to saving costs on lighting and completing an information-technology project.
Trustees Jeff Markley and Lorrie Benza voted for not reappointing Mr. Joyce, while Trustee Matthew Lynch supported his reappointment.
Township Fiscal Officer Cheri Measures is reviewing the "scope of the projects, and we'll be addressing them," Mrs. Benza said.
Mrs. Measures is the record keeper for the township, and she should have all that information, Mrs. Benza said. "She is going through all the records," she said.
"We haven't had a township administrator that long, and the township staff will do some of the work."
Shane Wrench, formerly assistant zoning inspector and now acting zoning inspector, is following up on those projects pertaining to zoning, Mrs. Benza said.
One of the projects under way was to reduce costs of lighting at township buildings. A light-emitting diode lamp is being tested at Centerville Mills Park for efficiency. Properties Superintendent David Mitchell can take over those types of projects, Mrs. Benza said.
With a parking-lot project at Town Hall, Mrs. Benza said, she and Mr. Markley are in touch with the Chagrin River Watershed Partners, which has been involved with the planning for water-retention areas to prevent runoff.
Mrs. Benza said at this point there is no intent to eliminate the position of township administrator.
Mr. Lynch said Mr. Wrench now has all the jobs of zoning inspector. It would be difficult for him to take on the many other projects under way, he said.
Former Trustee Linda White lauded the work Mr. Joyce has done. "He was highly thought of throughout the county. He was the premiere zoning inspector in Geauga County," she said.
He came up with the idea for using a plasma blast to release the water at the Kenston Lake dam, she said.
He was working on a pervious surface for the Town Hall parking lot that would drain the water into the ground. "And he was the one who came up with LED lights and putting one up at Centerville Mills Park to test it," she said.
"He was working on geothermal heating to save on utility costs," Ms. White said.
Mr. Joyce worked with contractors on the Town Hall renovations and discovered "hot" wires hanging in ceilings and walls, she said. "And every one of the items on all the contracts in the basement were fulfilled," she said.
He checked into the security system for the fiscal officer's office and obtained the best bid, Ms. White said. He also found that South Franklin Circle never paid occupancy permits, and he turned it over to the prosecutor's office, she said.
"He has helped with the parks, roads and fire departments, and saved the township money," Ms. White said. The $294,000 the township received in estate taxes last year could have paid for his salary, she said.
Mr. Markley originally had voted for appointing Mr. Joyce township administrator. It was a first for the township.
Now, without Mr. Joyce, he said, "We are sorting through the projects. We have to prioritize the list and assign them to the appropriate person."
Mr. Markley said the upstairs renovation at Town Hall was bid and awarded, but some of the work was changed. "We didn't know it was changed," he said.
"The township administrator has been too involved in decision-making on many fronts, from projects to fiscal management. Lorrie and I ran on the premise of empowering department heads," Mr. Markley said.
"The township administrator shouldn't be making the decisions for the department heads," he said. "The township administrator is to ensure decisions made by the trustees are conveyed to department heads."
The department heads can work with the administrator on issues, and the administrator takes them to the trustees for decisions, Mr. Markley said. "It can work."
When trustees approved hiring an administrator, he supported it and believed the job to be more clerical and administrative, he said. "It wasn't policy or decision-making."
He added that they now have to look at the many projects and which of them have priority. "The work has been done in the past by the department heads and Township Trustees," Mr. Markley said.
He said he continues to support the idea of a township administrator and it is very possible the position will be filled again. "It will be a redefined role, and the person won't get involved in policy making," Mr. Markley said.
[ back ]
