Westside Messenger - June 30th, 2019

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June 30, 2019 - WESTSIDE MESSENGER - PAGE 3
Franklin Township finds funds to hire administrator
By Amanda Ensinger
Staff Writer
Franklin Township has hired a township
administrator, despite hesitation from
a trustee. At a recent meeting, the board
approved a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) with new Franklin Township
Administrator Mark Potts.
All of the trustees voted in favor of the
MOU, however during previous meetings
trustee Ralph Horn opposed creating the
position or hiring an individual to fill it.
“This has nothing to do with Mark or his
abilities,” Horn said. “My hesitation has to
do with our budget and our remaining balance
for 2019. I have been opposed to
bringing in an administrator because I feel
using these funds will make us really
squeezed for the rest of the year.”
Previously, Horn voted no to the creation
of the position and to filling the position,
but said he voted yes to the MOU
because the other trustees already had
voted in favor of the position and the hiring
of Potts.
“I really haven’t changed by mind, but
Mark was already hired, so there wasn’t
much I could do,” Ralph said. “I had asked
the other trustees if we could delay the hiring
of an administrator until the first of
INTERCHANGE
Continued from page 1
Construction is expected to be complete
by 2020.
The project would improve the landscaping
around the West Broad Street and
I-270 interchange. It is a collaboration
between Franklin Township, Prairie
Township, Franklin County, Hollywood
Casino, Columbus, Weston Vision and
Haydocy.
The project will include adding landscaping,
LED lighting over the underpass
and sculptures to the interchange. It is
valued at around $900,000.
Previously, it was estimated that maintenance
of the interchange would cost
between $30,000 and $60,000 a year and
organizers were looking for eight partners
to pay approximately $4,500 to $7,500
each per year for the next 20 years.
However, after discussions with partners,
both Prairie and Franklin Township
agreed to maintain the landscaping in
their municipalities.
“More of the square footage for this
project will be in Prairie Township as a
result of how the interchange is configured,”
Peters said. “However, it is important
we both maintain our parts of the
interchange because this is visitor’s first
glimpse into our communities.”
In other news, the board discussed an
upcoming paving project taking place in
both Franklin and Prairie Township near
Havenwood Apartments.
“Franklin Township received a grant to
repave Westport Road,” Peters said.
Portions of Westport Road are also in
Prairie Township, adding an additional
benefit to Prairie Township.
The $2 million project would include
rebuilding Lincoln Park Court and
Nationwide Boulevard. The project also
would include adding sidewalks to the
area. All of these updates are located within
the Havenwood Apartments community
and will help residents better access school
buses and COTA transportation.
The total cost for this project is $2.1
million and the grant Franklin Township
received is for $2 million leaving some
funding Franklin Township would need to
cover. However, the majority of the cost
will be secured via the grant.
Residents also asked leadership how
they can petition for a speed bump on their
road.
“In order for a speed bump to go on a
road, we need to get an accurate traffic
count,” said Stephen Kennedy, township
trustee. “There needs to be at least 500
cars that travel on the road a day and the
majority of cars need to be going 30 miles
per hour above the speed limit.”
The township typically will put a speed
trailer on a road to count the traffic and
the speed of cars to see if the road meets
the criteria for a speed bump. If the road
does not meet the criteria, they may put a
temporary speed bump on the road to slow
traffic down.
next year, but they wanted to do it immediately.”
Potts will be paid an annual salary of
$65,000 a year and will receive vacation,
sick time, a cell phone and health and life
insurance. His total compensation package
including benefits will be approximately
$95,900.
The funding for the administrator position
will come from a combination of the
general fund and money formerly allocated
for the administrative coordinator who was
paid approximately $34,320 a year. After
eliminating that position earlier in the
year, it freed up additional funds to create
the position of administrator.
While Horn has concerns over the funding,
Franklin Township trustees John
Fleshman and Aryeh Alex say they are not
concerned about the township’s budget.
“The person that takes this position
knows it may only be temporary as well,”
Fleshman said. “If we don’t have the funds
to support this position in a year or year
and half, we may need to eliminate it and
all applicants are aware of this. However,
for at least the next year we have the funds
to support this.”
The MOU between Potts and the township
has no end date and Fleshman said he
is confident they will have the funds to continue
the position past the end of the year.
“We definitely have funding for the next
15 months or so,” Fleshman said. “If our
revenue stays at what it currently is, we
should have the funding to continue the
position past this timing.”
Alex said that the fiscal officer has
assured the trustees that there are funds
for this position.
“The fiscal officer said we have the
budget for this and the general fund can
handle it,” Alex said. “Because of that, I am
voting in favor.”
Potts said he is excited for the opportunity
to serve the community.
“I look forward to showing the residents
how the position of the township administrator
can be an effective advocate on
behalf of the township and its residents,
and help the township move forward into
the coming years,” Potts said.
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