ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP — St. Clair Township Police Chief Brian McKenzie told the St. Clair Township Board of Trustees during their meeting Monday that tickets will start being issued to anyone impeding traffic.

McKenzie was addressing the issue of traffic congestion at the intersection of Calcutta Smith Ferry Road and state Route 170 where the new car wash is located.

The county posted a sign several weeks ago advising motorists there was no stopping on the road to wait for access to the car wash. McKenzie said the department is still getting a lot of complaints about the stopped vehicles.

McKenzie said they can’t have cars standing on the road and he knows that people on Facebook are going to question what about Tim Horton’s and other locations.

“What I’m going to tell you is that according to Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 4511.66 no person shall park or leave standing any vehicle whether it is attended or unattended upon the main portion of the roadway,” McKenzie said citing ORC. “In any event a clear and unobstructed portion of the highway opposite such standing vehicle shall be left free for passage of other vehicles, and a clear view of such stopped vehicle shall be available from a distance of 200 feet in each direction upon such highway.”

The chief went on to say he himself doesn’t like what happens on state Route 170, but the fact of the matter is that there is a two lane and it’s unobstructed for more than 200 feet. He also said that if people don’t like what happens at Tim Hortons on state Route 170, they should get ahold of those who make the state laws and stop it.

“The fact is the intersection at Smith Ferry and 170, there is not a two-lane road right there. What’s going to happen is somebody is going to go out around that traffic, and they are going to cause a head on collision and it’s going to be a bad one because it’s unobstructed,” McKenzie said. “We have been letting it go for two weeks; it’s going to end.”

McKenzie noted that one driver came down off Smith Ferry Road and actually blocked both lanes to get into the car wash and the police department isn’t going to tolerate that. He went on to say the police will try to usher people away.

“It’s going to come to a point where your car wash is not more important than somebody’s life,” McKenzie said. “So here is what we are going to do. We don’t want to write tickets, but it is what it is. It’s their job and if we can avoid a fatality or a crash there, then we will do what we got to do.”

McKenzie requested and was granted the approval to renew the three-year contract with East Liverpool Police Department for dispatch services with an increase of 16% over the next three years with five percent increase the first and second years and a six percent increase the third year.

The contract will run from March 1, 2025, through Feb. 29, 2028.

“We have a very good relationship with them, and they do a nice job for us,” McKenzie said.

Trustee James Sabatini said the East Liverpool Police dispatch has been an asset to the township.

McKenzie also requested and was granted approval to upgrade the department’s duty guns at a cost of 19,834.54 to be paid out of the Drug Law Enforcement Funds.

Guns to be purchased through Vance’s Law Enforcement out of Columbus include 15 Glock 45 9mm, Four Winchester 9mm Lugers and Two Critical Duty 9 mm Lugers.

Board of Trustees Chair Robert Swickard noted it has been 10 years since the last upgrade.

Road Foreman Scott Barrett said the township purchased a Ford cab tractor with a boom attachment with a spare boom at the Kiko auction on Feb. 26 for $10,750. The tractor will be used to prep the roads for chip and seal and normal road maintenance in the township.

Barrett requested and was granted approval to purchase a rear blade for the tractor from Vernon Dell at a cost of $4,189 to be used for chip and seal and patching and a grater and scraper for $2,889.

Trustee James Sabatini gave an update on the Midland Frederick Town Road slip repair saying the length of the guardrail will need to be extended for safety reasons. The original contract stated replacing 400 feet of guardrail, but the recommendation is now 650. The 400 feet was enough to go through the original slip area, but more of the site has slipped. Since crews did not have to do any blasting on the repair the project is under budget so the additional guardrail would not have an additional cost. The trustees will vote on the change once they receive a change order.

There was no one for public speaking and no reports from Calcutta or Glenmoor volunteer fire departments.

The trustees who voted to reduce the speed from 35 mph to 25 mph on Cricket Lane at their last meeting have one more step to follow before they can enforce the change. The trustees adopted a resolution for the speed limit change and will provide notice to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The speed limit change cannot be enforced for 60 days.

The trustees approved three applications to work within a township right away for Sigma Technologies of Perrysburg, Ohio for AEP to replace poles on multiple streets in Beaver Crest Estates and other locations in the township beginning March 11 with a completion date of July 11.

A resolution supporting State Issue 2 Renewal on statewide ballot for the May 6 election was approved.

Motions cancel uniform service for the road department employees and given them a yearly allowance of $1,000 divided into two $500 payments twice a year to purchase uniforms and to give Police Administrative Assistant Herman Potts a uniform allowance of $500 a year were approved.

The refinancing of the 2025 Dodge Durango purchased for the police department for a lower APR has been approved. The refinancing drops the interest rate from 12.29 APR to an APR of 5.24

Purchase orders totaling $46,116.65, blanket certificates totaling $16,482.73 and bills totaling $119,788.52 were approved for payment.

The Travel and Tourism Board will meet on March 13 at 7 p.m. at the Township Administration Building.

The Ohio Division of Forestry will hold a clean-up day on Grimms Bridge on Feb.23 from noon to 3 p.m. Anyone interested in participating can meet at the railroad there.

The St. Clair Township Board of Trustees meets every other Monday at 4 p.m. at the Township Administration Building. The next regular meeting is scheduled for March 24.

kgarabrandt@mojonews.com