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Partners In Prime president Stephen Schnabl greets a community member at the grand opening of the West Chester Activity Center Nov. 1, 2010. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.

The West Chester Board of Trustees approved contributions this week to help fund the West Chester Activity Center and the The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting.

The Trustees agreed to contribute $75,000 in 2013 to Partners in Prime, an organization that operates the West Chester Activity Center.

The West Chester Activity Center, which opened in the fall of 2010 in the building off Cox Road that used to be the home to the West Chester Library, serves as a club for seniors and also includes a fitness facility, an electronic gaming room, study space for teens, meeting space and room rentals.

Partners In Prime president Stephen Schnabl told the trustees during its meeting Tuesday night that the Activity Center is projected to have a shortfall in 2013. Schnabl said that the estimated expenses in 2013 are $401,888, while the projected revenue is $316,000.

The $75,000 is part of a descending contribution schedule created by the township. Between 2008-2011, the township contributed $100,000 to Partners in Prime each year. In 2012, the amount went down to $85,000.

• West Chester Activity Center website
• Story: Voice of America Museum rich in Cincinnati history
• Story: Anniversary of VOA marks beginning of national museum
• Story: Voice of America Museum Board gets official go ahead

“If Partners in Prime had not stepped forward and done this (taken over the old library building) – this facility would probably be a bigger burden to the tax payers than the dollar amount we are contributing,” trustee George Lang said.

Clyde Haehnle, who is also on the board of directors, provides a tour of VOA Museum. He was a project engineer at the Voice of America Bethany Relay Station and was involved with the project when it was built in 1944 under the direction of Powell Crosley Jr. Photo taken by Tony Jones.

According to the planned descending contribution scale, the amount given to Partners in Prime will decrease to $65,000 in 2014, to $50,000 in 2015, to $40,000 in 2016, $30,000 in 2017 and $25,000 in 2018 and in subsequent years if the township’s budget permits.

Since 2001, the township has contributed $1,120,250 to Partners in Prime.

The trustees also agreed to contribute $85,000 to the board of the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting. Earlier this month, the trustees officially agreed to enter into a five-year lease with the museum board. The lease agreement put the museum board in charge of maintaining the landmark off Tylersville Road and allowed them to raise funds as a non-profit corporation.

Currently, the museum is open for a few hours for tours on the third Saturday of each month. In order to open on a full-time basis and become a revenue-generating landmark, the museum board must raise approximately $12 million in funds.

If and when the fundraising is completed, it is expected to attract 25,000 visitors, bring in $475,000 in out of area direct spending and provide an overall economic impact in excess of $1.7 million annually, according to estimates by museum design firm Jack Rouse Associates.

Contributions to the museum board, like to Partners in Prime, decline over time. The declining schedule includes contributions of $75,000 in 2014, $75,000 in 2015, $50,000 in 2016 and $50,000 in 2017.

“Development on the site will return millions of dollars to the tax payers in a variety of different ways,” trustee Catherine Stoker said. “I think this is a modest return to ensure we can meet our commitment that we made when we received all of this acreage and help secure the future of the Voice of America Museum.”

Scheduled contributions to both Partners in Prime and to the board of Voice of America Museum will be reviewed annually by the board of trustees.

Posted in: Board of Trustees, Business, News |

Tags: Tags: Catherine Stoker, George Lang, Lee Wong, National VOA Museum of Broadcasting, National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, Partners In Prime, VOA Museum, VOA Museum of Broadcasting, Voice of America Museum, West Chester Activity Center

The West Chester Township Board of Trustees met for the first time in 2013 last night, Jan. 8. At the meeting, the board elected Lee Wong as its president and determined its 2013 meeting schedule.

Wong (photo) became a trustee in 2005.

The 2012 president of the board of trustees, Catherine Stoker, was elected as the 2013 vice president. Stoker has been a township trustee since 1994.

George Lang, the third trustee on the board, was first elected to the board in 2003.

The 2013 schedule was also determined at last night’s meeting.

Meetings will be held on the second and fourth Tuesdays each month with exception to meetings on Nov. 12, Dec. 3 and Dec. 17.

Changes may occur as deemed necessary by the board.

The West Chester Township Board of Trustees meetings are held in Township Hall, located 9113 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, at 6 p.m.

Posted in: Board of Trustees, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: 2011 schedule, board of trustees, Catherine Stoker, George Lang, Lee Wong, West Chester Board of Trustees, West Chester Township Board of Trustees

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.

Posted in: Board of Trustees, Business, News |

Tags: Tags: Catherine Stoker, Fabian Kulynych, Fabian Kulynych REC Solar, Heather Spatz, Heather Spatz IKEA, IKEA, IKEA Cincinnati, IKEA photos, IKEA solar photos, IKEA solar power, IKEA solar power Cincinnati, IKEA solar power West Chester, IKEA West Chester, West Chester Board of Trustees, West Chester photos, West Chester Township Board of Trustees

If the mild weather continues, West Chester Township figures to save thousands of dollars that could be used towards road maintenance, core competencies or for eliminating future tax increases.

So far this winter, West Chester has yet to accept delivery of additional salt and have not needed to pay for extra labor. In fact, the township has only used salt that was purchased for last year.

According, to West Chester spokeswoman Barbara Wilson, “our domes are full.”

“West Chester contracts for road salt at the beginning of each winter season and actually purchases the salt as needed throughout the season,” Wilson said. “It is our practice to keep the salt domes full and hold over any unused salt for use the next season.”

While it is not known how much the township has spent this winter on snow removal, two winters ago it spent more than $500,000. Last winter, the township spent $338,150.

“If we have a mild winter, such that the township does not spend as much as usual from its roads fund on snow plowing, the monies saved would not be moved to another fund,” West Chester Township Trustee Catherine Stoker said. “They would be expended as needed on other township road maintenance needs in the coming months.”

Furthermore, if the mild winter continues, the township will likely save money on energy costs. Those savings would remain in the same fund for future utility expenses, according to Stoker.

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Barbara Wilson, Butler County weather, Catherine Stoker, Liberty Township weather, National Weather Service, snow, West Chester freezing rain, West Chester snow, West Chester Township Trustee, West Chester weather

The proposal to make West Chester Township into the City of West Chester was once a hot-button topic in this suburban community of about 60,000 residents and 3,000 businesses.

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.
Below is a portion of the story:

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.

For the entire story, visit Cincinnati.com’s post “Make West Chester a city? Issue arises again.”

Posted in: Board of Trustees, Election, News |

Tags: Tags: Bill Zerkle, board of trustees, Catherine Stoker, City of West Chester, West Chester Board of Trustees, West Chester Township, West Chester Township Board of Trustees, William Zerkle

Approximately 200-to-300 concerned citizens attended a passionate debate on Issue 2 between a state senator and an attorney representing Ohio’s firefighters at a local school in Liberty Township Monday night.

The highly publicized Issue, where each campaign committee has aired television ads featuring firefighters, is a petition-driven referendum to repeal Senate Bill 5, a collective bargaining overhaul that limited the ability of public workers to negotiate for wages, working conditions and pension benefits.

Steve Lazarus, an attorney representing the Ohio Association of Firefighters, spoke against the law and encouraged the community to vote “no” on Issue 2.

“I ask this question to myself because I don’t know the answer and I am going to ask the same question to you, how much is too much to pay someone who goes to work everyday and says to their spouse and children ‘goodbye’ and they may or may be coming home at the end of their shift?’” Lazarus said.

Speaking in favor of Issue 2 and in approval of Senate Bill 5, State Senator Bill Coley said the law gives city, township and school officials more tools when to comes to balancing their budgets during poor economic times.

“Local government has to get control over its budget and when there are step increases and automatic pay raises and things like that and you don’t have the control you need over your budget and you get into situations where you must raise taxes,” Coley said.

During the debate, Coley focused on how Issue 2 restores balance and fairness by asking government employees to pay 15 percent of their health insurance, 10 percent of their retirement and have pay raises be based on performance.

West Chester Township Trustee Catherine Stoker questioned Senate Bill 5 after the township has lost its local government funds, tangible personal property taxes and estate taxes.

“Issue 2 is supposed to recoup this five to six million dollars a year?

“By making them (government employees) pay their health premiums from 12 percent to 15 percent saves us a couple hundred grand a year,” Stoker said. “I am sorry, I don’t know how we are going to maintain our roads with this kind of math.”

Despite the event being sponsored by the Liberty Township Tea Party, the majority of the crowd appeared to be opposed to Issue 2 and often cheered on Lazarus.

“There is no reason to have collective bargaining if one side holds all the cards. It is a sham,” said Lazarus on Issue 2. “Why are we wasting our time with collective bargaining when one side gets to make the decision.”

Meanwhile, Coley argued that the current collective bargaining laws have to be changed and if Issue 2 is not passed then change will never happen.

“We changed the law so you the voters have the final say what is or is not fair. Those who oppose change want you to vote ‘no’ on Issue 2, so we can give that power back to labor lawyers,” Coley said. “We trust you, they don’t.”

Posted in: Board of Trustees, Election, Events, Government, News, Political events, Tea Party |

Tags: Tags: Bill Coley, Catherine Stoker, Doc Thompson, Doc Thompson 700 WLW, Liberty Township Tea Party, Ohio Association of Fire Fighters, SB5, Senate Bill 5, Senator Bill Coley, Steve Lazarus, Tea Party

The West Chester Township Board of Trustees approved and authorized its township administrator to give merit raises up to four percent to all qualified non-contract exempt and non-exempt employees at its meeting Tuesday, June 28.

The raises can be authorized in the first full-pay period in July and includes a 3-mill increase to the payment pool for non-contract employees.

The merit-based system was originally approved by the trustees in Feb. 2006 and only awards raises to employees, who are considered “top performers.”

West Chester Township, unlike other communities, does not offer step-pay increases.

The board passed the motion for merit raises up to four percent on Tuesday by way of a 2-to-1 vote.

Trustee George Lang opposed the raises and showed concern that the decrease in the local government fund, decreasing property taxes and the recent loss of local businesses could cause a “perfect storm for negativity for local government finances.”

“The private sector has to support the government,” Lang said. “If we continue to allow government to grow, as the private sector downsizes – it is an unsustainable formula. I would just recommend that we take a year off for pay raises for our non-contract employees.”

Meanwhile, fellow trustees Catherine Stoker and Lee Wong shared their appreciation for the merit-based program and believe the township needs to “incentivize” its non-contract employees.

“I think that it is important that we keep our employees innovative and sharp and constantly looking to do better,” Stoker said. “We can’t just beat them with a stick and say ‘no, we are not going to do anything.’”

Posted in: Board of Trustees, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: board of trustees, Catherine Stoker, George Lang, government, government raises, Lee Wong, merit raises, raises, West Chester Board of Trustees, West Chester Township Board of Trustees

While Butler County has lost nearly 1,300 jobs in the first six months of 2011 and an additional 400 impending job losses are expected to occur in West Chester Township by the fall, there is still confidence among the trustees and the township administrator that the community will continue to thrive.

“While the economy has crashed and the state of Ohio has lost between 400,000 to 600,000 jobs … in the two recent recessions that we have went through, in West Chester we have added $2.2 billion in new commercial construction, $24 million square feet of new commercial property and over 26,000 jobs,” West Chester Trustee George Lang said referring to the two recessions experienced this decade.

In May of 2011, however, two local businesses, BAE Systems and CEVA Logistics US Inc., announced plans to slash another 400 jobs this fall.

For BAE, which employed roughly 1,800 workers at the start of 2010, the latest cuts could drop its total workforce to 430 people. Meanwhile, CEVA Logistics is closing its local operations after Dell Computers decided to eliminate its 194 positions from the West Chester facility and transfer it to a new location.

In addition to that, Lakota Local Schools has recently eliminated 78 positions for the 2011-2012 school year and Liz Clairborne officials announced in June that it was going to close its West Chester based distribution center, which employs roughly 400 workers, in 2012.

“Many people want to focus on the job losses and rightfully so because it does significantly impact peoples’ lives,” West Chester Township Administrator Judith Boyko said. “However, I think that it is important to remember that we are in the fourth year of an economic downturn, yet the majority of West Chester businesses have sustained their operations amidst this volatile economy.” (more…)

Posted in: Business, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Army, BAE Systems, business, business news, Catherine Stoker, CEVA Logistics, CEVA Logistics US Inc., Dana Stambaugh, Dell, Dell Computers, jobs, Liz Claiborne, Liz Claiborne distribution center, Liz Claiborne West Chester, military, West Chester jobs, West Chester Liz Claiborne

The Liz Claiborne distribution center in West Chester Township is planning to close and sell its building, according to Cincinnati.com. The facility, which is located at 8741 Jacquemin Drive near the Union Centre Boulevard and Princeton-Glendale Road intersection, employs around 600 workers.

“We are very sorry to hear about it,” West Chester trustee president Catherine Stoker told Cincinnati.com. “We hope they will be able to sell that soon and have another fine employer move in.

“Most companies do the courtesy of giving us a heads up.”

The distribution center opened in 2002 in West Chester Township and serves company stores and retail customers across the country.

Yesterday, June 6, the Pulse Journal reported that Dana Stambaugh, vice president of corporate and internal communications, said that the facility is closing due to “changing business needs.”

The Liz Claiborne fashion company designs and markets a wide range of women’s and men’s apparel, accessories and fragrance products.

For more on the story, visit Cincinnati.com’s post “Liz Claiborne closing in West Chester center.” Or visit the Pulse Journal’s report “600 jobs at risk with closure of Liz Claiborne distribution center.”

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, business news, Catherine Stoker, Dana Stambaugh, jobs, Liz Claiborne, Liz Claiborne distribution center, Liz Claiborne West Chester, West Chester jobs, West Chester Liz Claiborne

During last night’s board meeting, the West Chester Township Board of Trustees voted in favor of advertising for the request for proposals from a non-profit organization to manage the Station Road Schoolhouse.

The board will accept proposals from non-profit organizations interested in operating and managing the schoolhouse building and property, while the township itself would maintain ownership of the building.

Trustee Lang voted against the motion to advertise for proposals from non-profits and wanted it to be opened up to the private sector.

“It will create greater revenue for the township,” Lang said. “Right now, we are just looking at taking the maintenance and our ongoing costs of the building away from the township…if we could bring someone from the private sector, we could potentially generate revenue back to the township.”

>>>VIDEO OF TRUSTEE MEETING<<<

Trustees Lee Wong and Catherine Stoker were against opening it up to the private sector and approved the motion to advertise for proposals from non-profits.

“It seems like the township is always on the losing end. The private partnerships keep coming back for more money,” Wong said.

According to a release from the township today, West Chester has similar partnership agreements in place for management of the West Chester Activity Center, the West Chester Baseball Complex and the West Chester Library. (more…)

Posted in: Board of Trustees, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: board of trustees, Catherine Stoker, George Lang, Lee Wong, schoolhouse, Station Road Schoolhouse, West Chester Board of Trustees, West Chester Township Board of Trustees