CALCUTTA – The St. Clair Township Police Department is losing an officer.

St. Clair Township Police Chief Brian McKenzie told the St. Clair Township Board of Trustees during Monday’s meeting that officer Chase Askounes submitted his resignation effective June 22.

Trustees Robert Swickard and James Sabatini II voted to accept and approve the resignation. Trustee Jordan Williams did not vote due to being absent and excused from the meeting.

When asked if McKenzie was going to be searching for officers to fill the vacancies created by the Askounes resignation and the recent resignation of Matthew Greenlief, Swickard and Sabatini said no, noting the current budget for the police department is not enough to cover hiring more officers.

Road Foreman Dave Smith requested and was granted the approval to purchase 132 tons of premium and general asphalt at a cost of $132.14 per ton for a total of $17,442.48 to be used for general road maintenance and chip and seal prep.

There were no representatives present at the meeting from the St. Clair or Glenmoor volunteer fire departments and no reports submitted.

Notification letters were sent to Beaver Local School District and Columbiana County Career Technical Center regarding creation of TIF IV. Per the Ohio Department of Development, “Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is an economic development mechanism available to local governments in Ohio to finance public infrastructure improvements and, in certain circumstances, residential rehabilitation. TIFs are implemented at the local level and may be created by a township, municipality or county. Payments derived from the increased assessed value of any improvement to real property beyond that amount are directed towards a separate fund to finance the construction of public infrastructure defined within the TIF legislation.”

Swickard noted a TIF IV would not cost the school districts any additional money.

Sabatini noted that there has been discussion about a county centralized 911 system, and the county is looking for feedback from all the townships if they would support that or not. Swickard said he has some concerns over a centralized location and was not ready to offer a letter of support without some more information.

Sabatini said the township was not at that point yet, and basically the county is just putting out feelers at this point. Swickard said he would email his questions and concerns to the 911 committee.

The trustees adopted a resolution approving a new alternative method of apportionment of Local Government Fund Monies to be distributed in 2027.

The minutes of the June 15 meeting were approved as presented.

Bills totaling $268,733.12, super blanket certificates totaling $42,436.31 and purchase orders totaling $153,339.10 were approved for payment.

The St. Clair Township offices will be closed on July 3 in observance of the Fourth of July.

The St. Clair Township Board of Trustees meets every other Monday at 4 p.m. at the government building, 15442 Pugh Road, Calcutta. The next regular meeting is scheduled for July 13.