July 24, 2011
Northridge Local Schools
School board settles on tax trade-off By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Having failed in three consecutive elections to renew a 1-percent school district income tax, the Northridge Board of Education voted July 18 to try a new approach. Voters will be asked a fourth time to re-establish the 1-percent income tax, but this time they will also receive a reduction of an existing property tax from 9.3 mills to about 5 mills. Treasurer Jim Hudson estimated the reduction in property tax would save
Post Office Alley work begins
be 1 percent of income. “My recommendation is to pursue a A closer look 1 percent income tax, and in conjunction with that pursue passing a resoluTreasurer Jim Hudson estimated tion of intent that would reduce the the reduction in property tax emergency levy to a certain collection,” would save about $130 annually Hudson said. “If we reduced it to 5 on a $100,000 home, and $260 mills, that would be collections of about annually on a $200,000 home. $1.2 million.” The increase in income tax would Board members discussed proposbe 1 percent of income. ing an “earned income” income tax, which applies to fewer types of income, about $130 annually on a $100,000 but rejected the possibility because the home, and $260 annually on a $200,000 tax rate for the earned-income-only tax home. The increase in income tax would would be about 1.5 percent.
Hudson said he would rather have the income tax and the current property tax revenue, but voters have clearly said otherwise. “Ideally, where this district needs to be funded would be the 1 percent and the 9.3 (mills property tax), but unfortunately that’s not where the community wants to be, so we have to live within our means,” Hudson said. The proposal would give the district sufficient revenue to cover its costs through a five-year period, assuming voters would agree to renew the reduced property tax in 2014.
“To avoid cuts in the future, we would definitely need to renew the 5 mill (emergency levy) for $1.2 million,” Hudson said. The net effect of the trade-off is as if the district passed a smaller income tax, Hudson said. “It’s like getting a half a percent increase instead of a 1 percent increase,” Hudson said. “That’s roughly what it would shake out to be.” Overall, the exchange should benefit landowners, Hudson said. See BOARD, page A2
Hartford Fairgrounds being readied for opening
COOLING OFF
By MICHAEL J. MAURER
4H and a little bit of Knox Coun-
ThisWeek Community Newspapers ty and a little bit of Delaware
By JENNA GANT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Construction at Post Office Alley is under way, thanks to commercial property owners signing away easements along the roadway. Village manager Jim Lenner said he received the 12th and final signature needed to begin the $318,117 project on July 14. Lenner sent a letter to all property owners along Post Office Alley May 10 asking if they would donate part of their land to the village so it could install new water, sewer and stormwater lines and asphalt along the roadway. The village would then become responsible for maintaining the roadway, including snow removal and pothole repairs. The donated land ranged from approximately 87 square feet to 1,500 square feet. Lenner said a few property owners had concerns but said once he talked to them about the project they felt more content in signing away their land. “We talked to a couple of property owners about exactly where the right-of-way was going to be, where the pavement was going to be,” Lenner said, “making sure their structures weren’t in danger of being damaged or anything like that. “We explained all that and everyone, as far as I know, felt comfortable,” he said. Lenner said that although construction was supposed to start at the beginning of July, project contractors expect to finish within 60 days instead of the intended 90 days. In other matters Lenner told village council on July 19 that the village was one of seven communities invited back to apply for a $400,000 matching grant from the Ohio Department of Development. Lenner said the village has good odds, considering there are four $400,000 grants available. Downtown Johnstown, Inc. and the Old Town Committee See ALLEY, page A2
By Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek
Dawn Beresford has a bucket of water dumped over her head by Zachary Lester, 4, while cooling off at the Johnstown Skate N Swim on July 21. Beresford was at the pool with her two sons, Oscar and Oliver Hinerman, and Lester was at the pool with his grandfather, Gary Cavendish. The Johnstown Skate N Swim is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. and Sunday 1-7 p.m., weather permitting. Admission is $6 Monday through Saturday and $3 on Sunday. Children age 4 and under are admitted for free with a paying adult.
The Hartford Fair opens for its 153rd season Aug. 7 and will run through Aug. 13. The contest for fair king and queen will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, in the Pavilion building the night before the fair opens. Among the featured acts this year are the JaneDear Girls and Josh Thompson, in a country music performance at 7:30 p.m. Monday, along with horse shows and horse pulls and motorized events such as tractor pulls and obstacle course contests. “Our biggest draw is the rough truck contest, where they run over some little mountains and curves and water and so forth, said fair manager Larry Hughes. “It’s done on time and speed. That’s our biggest draw, and the demolition derby is two or three. The truck and tractor pull on Tuesday is right there. Motocross is up there.” Hartford Fair is one of the few fairs that serve more than one county. “We’re all similar,” Hughes said of Ohio’s traditional county fairs. “We all have different activities, but we’re all similar in that most of the fair is for the kids. “Our fair is unique in that we cover all of Licking County for
County,” he said. “Depending on where the kids live, in certain townships, they can show here. A lot of the county fairs are for one particular county alone. Our bylaws and regulations were set up 153 years ago, with individuals from Delaware and Knox counties, and they happened to set up a fair where we happen to be at the present time.” Among the major events at the fair each year are school bus races, motocross and demolition derby. Hughes said attendance last year was down a bit from the year before, with about 215,000 total, compared to about 235,000 previously. Fair rides will be provided by Otterbacher shows, which also serves Knox County. “He’s been here, probably 12 years, 14 years,” Hughes said. “He cares about the Hartford Fair. “A couple of years ago he came in and said you need to paint your fence out along the road. I said yeah, we’ve talked about it but we can’t find any electrostatic painters out there. “He said, why don’t I put my men on it? They had a week between the Knox County Fair and the Hartford Fair and he put his men to work rolling and brushing the fence.” See FAIR, page A2
Residents ask village council for a noise ordinance By JENNA GANT ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Two residents July 19 asked Johnstown Village Council to create a noise ordinance. Smith and Donna Clark said they’re having problems with dogs barking in their neighborhood and people riding loud dirt bikes behind their property at 119 Jersey St. “I don’t believe (the dirt bikes) belong in town,” Donna Clark said. “It’s head-splitting. It’s just awful.” The Clarks said they’ve called police several times about their complaints. “I thought there was a noise ordinance
when we called the police department and they couldn’t do anything about either one. Their hands are tied,” she said. “They have no authority to do anything.” Village manager Jim Lenner said there is, in fact, a noise ordinance, but it applies only to commercially zoned properties, specifically, the “effects of loud manufacturing and commercial operations.” Lenner said the Clarks’ complaints don’t fall under this ordinance. It’s difficult for communities like Johnstown to enforce noise complaints because it’s open to interpretation, Lenner said. “What I think is loud isn’t necessar-
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ily what my neighbor thinks is loud,” he said. “There’s got to be some way to measure it.” Lenner said he would talk to police chief Don Corbin to see if officers could patrol the Clarks’ neighborhood more often or perform a courtesy drive if the Clarks call about noise problems again. He said that would be a short-term fix until council decides if the village needs a noise ordinance for residents. “It would be easy for somebody to come out and hear it because there are probably regular times when it happens,” council member David Keck said. The Clarks said they hear the dirt bike riders during the weekends and dogs
daily. “We’ve had to call (police) twice because of barking dogs and the last time they said they couldn’t do anything. ‘There’s no point even coming because we can’t do anything.’ So a noise ordinance would take care of that, I’d assume,” Donna Clark said. Lenner said he would gather previous noise complaints in the village to see if a long-term solution is needed. He said he plans to bring his findings and possibly a noise ordinance draft to the next committee meeting on Aug. 8. He said the safety and service comSee NOISE, page A2
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