Madison Township trustees approve enterprise zone, EMS agreements
The Madison Township trustees have given their okay for a business expansion in the northwest part of the township. The board voted at its regular meeting on Monday to approve an enterprise zone tax abatement agreement for a $1.5 million addition to Michael Byrne Manufacturing on Earth Boring Road.
The agreement would give the company a 60% abatement for 10 years on the construction of a new machine shop that will create seven new jobs. Trustees did not report any start or completion dates for the project.
Michael Byrne Manufacturing makes a variety of auger boring and horizontal directional drilling equipment for sale and rent.
Trustees voted 2-0 to approve the agreement with trustee Tom Craft abstaining for business reasons. The abatement still must be approved by two other political subdivisions.
Trustees also approved a new one-year contract for the Madison Fire Department to provide EMS service to Monroe Township and the Village of Lucas. The agreement starts Jan. 1 and runs through Dec. 31, 2023, and will cost Monroe Township $52,000, payable in quarterly installments.
Fire Chief Ken Justus told the board that the contract is the same as it has been for the past two or three years. He said he did not increase the price because Monroe Township has been doing more of its own calls and doing more transports themselves.
“They started to pick up the pace a lot and answer their own calls and I felt, since they were doing that, we would not ask for an increase,” Justus said.
'Stuff the Ambulance' event is this Saturday
During his administrative report, Justus reminded the trustees and the public that the fire department will be holding a “Stuff the Ambulance” campaign from 10 am. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the Mansfield Baptist Temple Parking lot to collect food for the food pantries in Richland County.
“I ask that everybody think about donating to help the food pantries and we will fill it (the ambulance) as best as we can and if it gets full, we’ll unload it and put some more in,” he said.
Justus said turnout was not as good as he had hoped for a similar campaign this past Sunday to collect gifts and clothing for children for Christmas.
“I am not deterred. We’re going to continue this,” he said.
Justus also presented trustees with a copy of a plan for them to review to use American Rescue Plan Act funds for supplemental pay for firefighters who worked during the COVID pandemic. The township still has $989,813 in ARPA funds that have not been allocated, although trustees have indicated they favor using the money for summer road paving.
In other business, trustees agreed to offer the township’s used Gradall excavator to the high bidder who offered $3,555 for the machine on GovDeals. The trustees had set a $5,000 reserve on the bidding.
Library seeks Madison High School yearbooks
During public comment, Beth Donaldson, the Madison branch manager for the Mansfield-Richland County Public Library, ask for the public’s help with a project to digitize local high school yearbooks for the Sherman Room genealogy archives at the main library. She said the library is looking for people to donate or lend Madison High School yearbooks from 1933-36, 1940-1942, 1972, 1974, 1977 and 2002 and Mansfield Senior High yearbooks from1973, 1975, 1978, 1982, 1984-86, 1988 and 1989.
Donaldson said the library also is promoting participation in the Ohio Talking Books program through the Ohio Library for the Blind and Disabled. Any individual who is certified legally blind or visually impaired is eligible to apply at any library branch.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Madison trustees approve new enterprise zone, EMS agreements
