January 9, 2011
Prairie Township
Cash purchase of fire engine to save $14K By CARLA SMITH ThisWeek Community Newspapers
After moving funds from one line item to another, Prairie Township Trustees finagled a way to purchase a brand new fire engine and save thousands of dollars when they do it. In one of its last actions of 2010, the board of trustees at the Dec. 30 meeting found the funds necessary to pur-
chase a fire engine for $505,493. A new fire engine was one of the big-ticket items the fire department said was necessary during the campaign for the fire levy in the fall. Prairie Township Fire Chief Steve Feustel told trustees the price of the fire engine the department needed was to go up with the new year. The fire department has not yet started collecting on the new levy, so he approached the
board about a last-minute deal from Pierce Manufacturing. “We held off buying this engine until residents passed the fire levy,” Feustel said. “Our current engine is 11 years old. If we pay cash we can save about $14,000 that would have been the interest.” Township administrator Tracy Hatmaker said the board would have to approve a supplemental appropriation in
order to purchase the new fire engine. “I believe that the cash option is the best deal,” trustee Steve Kennedy said. “I feel the same way,” trustee Doug Stormont agreed. Feustel said the new engine went out to bid, and it was Pierce that came back with the best and lowest deal. Once the department gets the new fire engine, the old one will be sold, he said. “We will strip it and then try to sell
it,” Feustel said. “We might be able to get between $20,000 and $25,000 for it. I’ll be surprised if it goes much higher than that.” Trustees were unanimous in approving the agreement for the new engine and the two supplemental appropriations it required. In other business last week, the board See TRUSTEES, page A2
Prairie Township prepared for winter ahead
HORSING AROUND
By CARLA SMITH ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
Horses graze at the Darby Oaks Family Farm, 3200 Plain City-Georgesville Road, across from Prairie Oaks Metro Parks where there are riding trails. Darby Oaks offers horse boarding with new stalls and riding rink.
Grove City’s tax debt exceeds $1M By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers
A closer look
The discovery of unpaid state taxes, added to a growing list of unpaid federal taxes, has pushed Grove City’s total tax debt to more than $1-million. City council discussed its tax-debt problem in detail during a special meeting Dec. 30. The Internal Revenue Service last month told the city it owed about $685,905 in unpaid taxes. During the Dec. 30 meeting, city officials said unpaid quarterly tax returns have been identified, adding about $370,000 to the federal debt. In addition, the city has learned it missed state tax payments totaling about $150,000. City council and most city administrators said they were unaware of the city’s tax debt until IRS officials visited the city with a 28-page document showing payments had been missed since at least 2007. City officials said previous IRS notices had been sent to assistant finance director Jackie Kin-
The city has paid $187,000 to the IRS for the fourth quarter of 2010 and $300,000 in initial payments toward previous quarters, finance director Mike Turner said. The $187,000 came out of the payroll account, but the $300,000 came out of the city’s unexpended 2010 general fund, which was projected to have a carryover of nearly $19-million.
cade, who handles the payroll taxes. She has been placed on paid administrative leave while city police conduct an investigation. Being placed on leave is standard procedure in these types of cases and does not indicate guilt, city law director Stephen Smith Jr. said. Kincade has denied any wrongdoing. Grove City is in talks with GBQ Consulting to perform an independent audit of the city’s books.
The city also is taking steps to appeal the penalties and interest charged by the IRS. In the course of the city’s investigation into the matter, three of the five unfiled returns were found. They’d been prepared, but never submitted. These were filed to the IRS last week. The two additional returns are being finalized and will be submitted later this week, city officials said. A Dec. 9 visit from the IRS was the first indication of any problem to upper level administration, the city has said. Previous notices sent to Kincade, who handles the payroll taxes, were not passed on to finance director Mike Turner or other city officials, mayor Richard “Ike” Stage said at a special council meeting held Dec. 30 to discuss the matter. City finance director Mike Turner told council all incoming tax-related documents either from the IRS or from the state department of taxation now will be sent directly to him. See GROVE CITY’S, page A2
Despite a budget crunch facing Prairie Township and an early onslaught of winter, township residents can expect the same level of service they’ve received in years past when it comes to snow and ice removal. “The township has always tried to do its best to keep a balance between keeping the roads safe for our residents and the emergency service providers and not overdoing putting salt down on the roads,” said Dave McAninch, road superintendent. “The township trustees and residents have come to A closer look expect us to keep the township roads clear The estimate for the salt of snow and ice purchase for the 2010-11 and safe for winter season was 300 tons, Dave McAninch, road their travel.“ McAninch superintendent, said. The said this is the township will pay $58.98 second year that per ton for regular rock salt the township this year. That price is aphas purchased proximately 2 percent highits salt through er than last year, he said. ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation). With this process, the township has to estimate in April how much salt it thinks it will need in the coming winter. “The first year we participated in the ODOT contract we estimated our usage at 400 tons,” McAninch said. “The contract requires you to purchase 80 percent of the estimate and allows you to purchase 120 percent of the estimate. We ended up purchasing 320 tons which was the 80 percent mark and ended up going in to this year with approximately 100 tons of salt in the township salt barn.“ The estimate for the salt purchase for the 201011 winter season was 300 tons, McAninch said. The township will pay $58.98 per ton for regular rock salt this year. That price is approximately 2 percent higher than last year, he said. “We have already purchased 110 tons this year,” he said. The vendor for ODOT is Cargill, a company that also sells a product under the state bidding process that is called ClearLane enhanced deicer. “What this product does compared to regular See PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP, page A2
Women-owned firm offers cultural, environmental services By KEVIN PARKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers
What started out as two archeologists scrambling to fill a void has burgeoned into a 45-employee Northland-based company with offices in four states offering services dealing with ancient history as well as completely modern issues and problems. What is today the ASC Group Inc. Cultural and Environmental Consultants, with headquarters on Freeway Drive North, was founded by business partners and Clintonville residents Shaune M. Skinner and Elsie Immel-Blei on
April 1, 1986, as simply Archeological Services Consultants. “ASC Group Inc. is a certified, women-owned cultural and environmental resources management company,” according to its website. The cultural part provided the underpinnings for the enterprise when the Ohio Historical Society, as a result of a potential conflict of interest, was forced to drop archeological surveys as a service offered. Skinner and ImmelBlei, archeologists for the society, faced losing their jobs so, with the blessing of the director, started their own firm to provide the
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Shaune Skinner, president of Northland-based ASC Group Inc., a cultural and environmental consulting firm, stands by some of the artifacts collected by her staff from the field. Skinner runs with business with her business partner Elsie Immel-Blei.
surveys, which are required by federal regulations for many types of development and land use. It was a propitious time to get into the field, so to speak, according to Skinner, now president of the company; business partner Immel-Blei is more involved in the financial end of things. In about 1986, Skinner said, the federal Office of Surface Mining had just been sued for failing to comply with a requirement to conduct archeological surveys before mining operations startSee FIRM, page A4
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