[ back ]
Some residents want vote on township hall
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - April 29, 2009)
Some residents want vote on township hall
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Some Munson residents said last week that the ballot box, not Township Trustees, should have decided the question of a new township hall.
"If it's such a good project for the township, why didn't you put it up for a vote?" Sherman Road resident Jeanne Ford asked.
She was among the approximately 30 people who turned out last week for a town-hall meeting to discuss the planned $850,000 new township hall.
Officials said there are several problems with that option.
Trustee Todd Ray said trustees, who began considering the new Township Hall in late 2006, knew then that members of the public would speak their minds on the project, even without a vote. He said residents are not shy about contacting trustees with their concerns. He said township officials also knew they would not rush the project, giving residents ample time to offer criticism or praise.
Putting such a measure on the ballot also would have been done at a cost to the township, Mr. Ray said. The added cost was not an option trustees wanted to take on, and he's not sure it would be justified, he said.
Mr. Ray said he was "reasonably satisfied" that trustees had followed the proper course in developing a plan that residents would be reasonably satisfied with and accept.
Fiscal Officer Patricia Bayer said she has served the township for 25 years and has seen the results of a ballot issue that asked a similar question.
About 23 years ago, she said, the township placed an issue on the ballot regarding the relocation of an old township hall. Officials at that time planned to move the historic structure from Mayfield Road (Route 322) to the site near where the existing Township Hall is located.
Mrs. Bayer said voters rejected that move, even though it would not have cost taxpayers any money. She said the township had the money set aside for the project. State law, she said, prohibited the township from including on the ballot language any mention that it would not cost taxpayers.
Mrs. Bayer said the township would have had a historic building preserved that could have served as a township hall.
"Is that what you want now?" she asked.
Sofie Horvath, a Fowlers Mills Road resident, said it would have been "totally worthless" to put the measure on the ballot. She said trustees have heard from many residents on the project, although many have been "Johnny-come-latelys." She said trustees were obligated to use the inheritance taxes within a certain time period, and that they, as the people's designated representatives, were elected to make those decisions.
"I think it's overdue and should have been started yesterday," Mrs. Horvath said of a new township hall.
Eugene Brown, a Winchester Drive resident, said he has doubts whether the building was necessary. He said he does not like township officials saying the inheritance money is not the residents' money. "The money belongs to Munson Township," he said. "You are using my money."
Mr. Ray said the money clearly belongs to Munson Township, although people can "split hairs" on its origin.
He said trustees are elected to make decisions on what may be the best use of the township's funds.
He said trustees never approach the project as being an urgent one. But, he said, that urgency is becoming more apparent as time goes on and it will likely be an urgent need in the next five to 10 years. "If we are guilty of looking ahead, and saying let's not wait until the need is urgent, let's take a look at it now while we have time to study the problem," he said.
He said officials have taken the time to learn about the project and come up with a "rational, sensible plan."
[ back ]
