West Chester Township Fiscal Officer Patricia Williams visits the West Chester Township Administration Building on Election Day last November. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.
The community is encouraged to attend a celebration honoring West Chester Township Fiscal Officer Patricia Williams as she prepares to retire after 36 years of public service.
Williams was first elected in 1976 and will complete her final term in office on Tuesday, March 31. She was the first woman elected to this position (originally named clerk/treasurer) and is now finishing her ninth four-year term.
The celebration will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, at the West Chester Library, 9363 Centre Pointe Drive. A formal program will take place at 6:30 p.m.
Williams has served alongside 14 different township trustees and her office has been moved to eight different locations during her tenure.
Williams and her husband Bill have been West Chester residents for more than 40 years and, at one time, owned two local businesses. They have two sons who are graduates of Lakota High School.
West Chester Township has earned nearly $100,000 through the collection of recyclable refuse from residents since the start of Butler County’s Recycle to Win Program, according to a recent release from the township.
Money collected from recycling through this program will benefit the development of walking and biking paths and routes in West Chester.
The West Chester Board of Trustees has designated funds generated from this program for the West Chester Connections Plan. Recyclables are accepted through curb-side recycling by private trash haulers and at recycling drop-off bins in the community.
In 2011, West Chester recycled more than 2,260 tons of refuse, or 10.7 percent of total trash collected. This translates into just more than $20,000 for development of walking and biking paths.
There are three recycling bin locations in West Chester Township: Keehner Park, 7411 Barrett Road, near the tennis courts; Beckett Park, 8558 E. Beckett Road, beyond the Muhlhauser Barn; and at The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, 8070 Tylersville Road, behind the building.
Items accepted for recycling include: newsprint, magazines, office paper, paperboard (cereal boxes, etc.), corrugated cardboard, junk mail, glass, plastics #1 and #2, aluminum, and bi-metal cans.
The West Chester Tea Party announced that there would be a voter forum for the March 6 primary race for the positions of Butler County Commissioner and Butler County Clerk of Courts in the Lakota West Freshman Auditorium at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The voter forum will be a chance for the electorate of Butler County to ask questions and hear from the Commissioner and Clerk of Courts candidates. West Chester Township Trustee George Lang is hosting the forum.
Don Dixon, who is running unopposed for one of the Commissioner openings, accepted an invitation to the forum.
In addition, invitations were accepted by Courtney Combs (Rep.) and T.C. Rogers (Rep.) who are running against Chuck Furmon (Rep. – incumbent) in the primary for the second Commissioner position.
Candidates Jodi Billerman (Dem.) and Daryl R. Olthaus (Lib.), who will be competing in the November election against the winner of the Republican primary, have also accepted the invitation.
Both Clerk of Court Republican primary candidates will be in attendance, current Clerk of Courts Mary Swain and former interim Clerk of Courts Jeff Wyrick.
The event is free to attend and open to the public. The Lakota West Freshman Campus is located at 5050 Tylersville Road in West Chester.
The West Chester Tea Party recently announced that there would be a voter forum for the March 6 primary race for the positions of Butler County Commissioner and Butler County Clerk of Courts in the Lakota West Freshman Auditorium at 7 p.m. Feb. 9.
The voter forum will be a chance for the electorate of Butler County to ask questions and hear from the Commissioner and Clerk of Courts candidates. West Chester Township Trustee George Lang is hosting the forum.
Don Dixon, who is running unopposed for one of the Commissioner openings, accepted an invitation to the forum.
In addition, invitations were accepted by Courtney Combs (Rep.) and T.C. Rogers (Rep.) who are running against Chuck Furmon (Rep. – incumbent) in the primary for the second Commissioner position.
Candidates Jodi Billerman (Dem.) and Daryl R. Olthaus (Lib.), who will be competing in the November election against the winner of the Republican primary, have also accepted the invitation.
Both Clerk of Court Republican primary candidates will be in attendance, current Clerk of Courts Mary Swain and former interim Clerk of Courts Jeff Wyrick.
The event is free to attend and open to the public. The Lakota West Freshman Campus is located at 5050 Tylersville Road in West Chester.
The IKEA in West Chester is now powering its lights, operating its cash registers and cooking its Swedish meatballs using a solar energy system that is located on the store’s rooftop.
Heather Spatz, West Chester’s IKEA store manager, officially announced Tuesday the activation of the solar energy system that is expected to produce approximately 1,334,300 kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, that amount of clean electricity is equivalent to eliminating the yearly emissions of 180 passenger cars.
“We are excited to be the 14th IKEA store to do this project in the United States,” Spatz said. “This is the largest commercial rooftop (solar) operation in Ohio. On our roof we now have 128,000 square feet of solar program consisting of 4,186 panels that are generating approximately 1 million kilowatts (hours) of clean electricity annually.”
The 4,186 panels cover the store’s rooftop and could produce nearly 40 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in the next 30 years, according REC Solar senior project manager Fabian Kulynych.
“That’s equivalent to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 28,000 tons,” said Kulynych, whose company acted as the contractor for the project.
“In 40 years from now, IKEA will be producing its own electricity for free while electricity from fossil fuels is expected to cost five times more. These energy savings will allow IKEA to keep its operating costs down and continue to pass along competitive prices on its products to its consumers.”
The consumers shopping at IKEA Tuesday morning had no idea about the thousands of solar panels atop the store, but thought the project should be shared with the community.
“It is important to our community that our businesses are successful and if IKEA can find a way to do that then it should be communicated back to us,” Lynn Shank of Liberty Township said. “If things can be done more efficiently (with energy) I would definitely support it.”
Also, supporting the new solar energy system was West Chester Township Board of Trustees President Catherine Stoker.
“Today, we are celebrating IKEA taking another giant step forward in showing not only residents but also businesses on how they can make our environment cleaner and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels,” Stoker said. “This is important to our lifestyle and wellbeing because it allows to become more and more independent.”
An additional 23 IKEA locations in the United States have solar energy projects underway. Once completed, IKEA will have a U.S. solar presence of 85 percent.
The West Chester Township Board of Trustees will hold its second regularly scheduled public meeting of 2012 at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Township Hall, 9113 Cincinnati-Dayton Road.
The trustees will continue to meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. each month at Township Hall.
Throughout the year, trustees can vote to alter the schedule.
In the past, due to winter holidays, the trustees have been known to adjust its November and December schedule.
The current 2012 schedule for the West Chester Township Board of Trustees is as follows – Jan. 24, Feb. 14, Feb. 28, March 13, March 27, April 10, April 24, May 8, May 22, June 12, June 26, July 10, July 24, Aug. 14, Aug. 28, Sept. 11, Sept. 25, Oct. 9, Oct. 23, Nov. 13, Dec. 4 and Dec. 18.
Currently, there is no meeting scheduled on the fourth Tuesday in November (Nov. 27).
Former Butler County Development Director Michael Juengling officially went to work for the first time as West Chester Township’s Community Development Director Thursday.
The township hired away the 20-year West Chester resident in October. Juengling will lead West Chester’s economic development and planning & zoning efforts in his new position.
“West Chester has everything going for it including great location, excellent infrastructure and positive leadership,” Juengling said. “The community has always been successful in attracting high-quality corporate investment and will continue to do so. I look forward to being a part of the community’s continued success.”
Juengling has 30 years of experience in planning and development for Middletown and Butler County having most recently served as director of Butler County Department of Development. In this position, he led the County’s planning, building, community development and economic development divisions.
Juengling fills a vacancy created in January with the departure of Brian Elliff. Since January, many of the responsibilities of the position have been managed by Township Planner Bryan Behrmann.
“Companies that locate in West Chester, do well in West Chester and want to expand here,” Mr. Juengling said. “West Chester’s leaders and stakeholders have positioned the community well for success.”
The West Chester Township Board of Trustees approved an agreement last week with Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7696 to manage, operate and maintain The Station Road Schoolhouse as The West Chester Veterans Center.
The lease approval is contingent upon the organization’s successful application to the Township’s Board of Zoning Appeals for a conditional use permit. The Board of Zoning Appeals meets at 7 p.m., Nov. 9 to consider the certificate.
The VFW’s lease agreement with the Township requires that the historic nature of the building be preserved and that all renovations be approved by the Township.
VFW Post 7696 will assume all financial obligations for the building and grounds including utilities, maintenance and any future improvements, which will be required in order to open the building for public use.
The Veterans have agreed to make the Station Road Schoolhouse available for public purposes including social, educational, cultural, creative, active and passive activities. A comprehensive programming plan will be submitted to the Township including information about special events and programming scheduled at the new center.
The two-room schoolhouse on Station Road was built in the early 1900s on the foundation of a one-room schoolhouse that was destroyed by fire. The two-room schoolhouse served the community until 1916 when the Union Township Centralized School (now Union Day School) was built on Cincinnati-Dayton Road. The building features two large rooms divided by pocket doors, an entry foyer and restroom.
The Station Road Schoolhouse is located at 6670 Station Road.
The West Chester Township Board of Trustees Tuesday approved the appointment of Mike Juengling to the vacant position of Community Development Director last week. Juengling, who is the Butler County Director of Development, will lead West Chester’s economic development and planning & zoning efforts in his new position.
“Mr. Juengling brings a wealth of public sector experience and knowledge in the fields of economic development, community planning, code enforcement and other related disciplines,” West Chester Township Administrator Judi Boyko said. “His competency and acumen will serve our community well now and as we move forward.”
Juengling has 30 years of experience in planning and development for Middletown and Butler County having most recently served as director of Butler County Department of Development. In this position, he led the County’s planning, building, community development and economic development divisions.
Juengling fills a vacancy created in January with the departure of Brian Elliff. Since January, many of the responsibilities of the position have been managed by Township Planner Bryan Behrmann.
Mr. Juengling is a 20-year resident of West Chester Township.
Mr. Juengling’s appointment is effective December 2,2011 and he will be compensated $75,000 annually.
Local activist Bill Zerkle – a former township parks director who is running for trustee next month – plans to start collecting petition signatures to get the issue back on the ballot.
Voters nixed the issue three times, the last about 18 years ago.
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Zerkle thinks the issue has a good shot at passing if people get facts instead of “spin.”
“I think if everyone voted their interest, and we want that, it would pass by 80 to 90 percent,” Zerkle said. “We are not talking about additional taxes. We are talking about replacing our existing taxes with outside taxes that are already being paid to other communities.”
In short, Zerkle is talking about earnings taxes that thousands of people who work in the township but live elsewhere pay to the communities where they reside.
Earnings taxes would generate about $20 million a year, and that’s enough for West Chester property owners to quit paying about $800 apiece per year in levies to support the police and fire departments, Zerkle said.
“We’ve made ourself a host community. Forty thousand people plus come here every day to work and we say we don’t need it, go home and pay it, and that’s $20 million. The end result of that is that we have the police and fire levies,” he said.
Earnings that West Chester residents pay to cities where they work also would come back to the township.
Zerkle, who headed a 25-member study group that looked into the financial aspects of “cityhood,” said he just wants the measure to be put to a vote.
The group began collecting signatures last year. They have about 2,000 so far, and another 2,500 signatures are needed to get the issue on the ballot, Zerkle said.
“The community has the right to make this decision. Only the community can decide on a form of government,” he said. “If it doesn’t (pass), it’s up to the people, and that’s OK.”
The issue received support from at least one trustee in the past. But that has waned.
Catherine Stoker said she was in favor of it 18 years ago when West Chester was in the midst of an annexation fight with Sharonville over a commercial park. But she doesn’t see the need for it now because of annexation reforms.
Stoker doesn’t believe an earnings tax would totally wipe out the township’s police and fire levies. She thinks it would add to taxes. Zerkle disputes that.
Stoker also said people won’t get much more service from their government if the township turns into a city.
“West Chester essentially provides all city services except paying for trash pickup. Is that really worth paying one percent of your income? To get trash pickup?” Stoker said.
