Questions

Re-Elect

Carol Graff

Township Trustee, Beavercreek, Ohio

I will answer and publish questions concerning issues for the upcoming election as long as you provide your name and phone number.

Question: I live in the City of Beavercreek, may I vote for Township Trustees?

Answer: The City of Beavercreek is an integral part of Beavercreek Township. City residents and township residents can vote for Township Trustees and Beavercreek Township Fire Levies. The Township administers the Fire Department for the City and the unincorporated portion of the township

Answer: I have been honored and privileged to serve the residents of Beavercreek Township and City for more than 30 years. I have acquired a broad base of information and experience that I put to work for our community. I have the energy, the time and desire to keep serving the community that has been good to me and my family.

Answer: Townships in Ohio are administrators of State Law. Trustees are guided by the Ohio Revised Code and are only permitted those actions that are specifically stated in the ORC. Beavercreek Township has not hired a Township Administrator; the functions of Administrator are performed by the Board of Township Trustees. The Trustees provide guidance to the employees, hire and fire employees, appropriate funds that are Certified to the Township by the County Auditor.

Question: Would the merger of the Township and the City derail the annexation attempts by the City of Fairborn and the City of Xenia?

Answer: Merger would permanently prohibit annexation of any areas merged. Action by the City and Township to merge may temporarily forestall annexation for a period of time even though merger does not occur. The Merger procedure is governed by Section 709.43-709.48 of the ORC: If citizens of the unincorporated portion of the township and citizens of the city want the merger question to be addressed, they should gather strength and go respectively to the Trustees and the City Council requesting the question of merger be put on the ballot. At that time the names of at least 5 individuals from each area must be on the ballot to be elected if the answer to the Question Studying Merger is positive in both City and Residual Township. The commission has a year in which to study the issue and put a recommendation on the ballot for the voters in each jurisdiction to vote to approve or not approve the merger. Voters in both jurisdictions must approve the merger. When a merger commission is selected, no annexation can take place while the commission is studying the issue. If the voters approve merger, no annexation can occur. If the issue fails, the unincorporated portions become subject to annexation.

There was a joint Township-City Task Force that studied the issue in 2000. Their recommendation was to retain the status quo because merger would require raise additional taxes to support the newly merged community.

Answer: Major roadways in the township such as Trebein, New-Germany Trebein, Dayton-Xenia, Indian Ripple, Beaver Valley, and Fairground Roads are presently County Roads and maintained by the Greene County engineer. If there is a merger of the two jurisdictions those roads become City streets. The merger study indicated that current funding levels would not be sufficient to provide the same service now provided by the County

Question: The Council members in the City of Beavercreek may only serve eight (8) consecutive years (two terms) at a time, and must stay off Council for four (4) years (1 term) before re-running. Does the same restriction govern Township Trustees?

Answer: The City of Beavercreek is governed by a Charter that stipulates the term limitation conditions. Township Trustees are governed by the Ohio Revised Code which has no such term limitation provisions for township or county elected officials.

1. Renovation and expansion of the Beavercreek Branch Library. Beavercreek serves more people in Greene County that any other branch. The Library serves people of all ages, of many interests and of every economic stratum.

2. Acquisition of over 275 acres of land for present and future recreational use before development overtakes the entire area.

3. Acquisition of the Koogler Wet Woodlands as a nature preserve for recreational and educational purposes and the restoration of a traditional prairie with walking paths for enjoyment and educational opportunities

4. Preservation of the Beaver Creek Wetland corridor. This area overlays the aquifer that provides the citizens of Beavercreek City and Township with their water supply.

5. Being a full partner in the reconstruction of the Lofino Grocery into the Charles and Anna Mae Lofino Senior Adult and Cultural Center. The Center provides an adequate meeting place for our senior citizens is a great achievement.

6. Completion of lighting all the ball fields at Rotary Park. This expands the use of an existing facility for people of all ages maximizes the facility at a minimum cost.

7. Construction of rest room facilities at Rotary and Community Parks increasing the usability of these areas.

8. Replacement of Fire Stations 61 and 63 and renovation of Fire Station 62 into modern fire houses for firefighters who serve 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Every resident of BEAVERCREEK TOWNSHIP, which includes the City of Beavercreek, votes for the Township Fire Department Levies, Township Trustees and Township Fiscal Officer.

Every resident of THE CITY OF BEAVERCREEK votes for the City Council, City Police, City Streets and Parks in addition to Township Trustees, Fiscal Officer and Fire Department Levies.

Residents in the UNINCORPORATED areas (Township) vote for Trustees and Fiscal Officer, Fire Department Levies, Township roads and Township Police Services (that are currently contracted to the Greene County Sheriff.)

Question: Why do we have a Township Fire Department and a City Police Department?

Answer: The Beavercreek Township Fire Department was founded in 1946. When the City of Beavercreek was incorporated in 1979 out of a portion of the entire Township there was a required division of assets. A Task Force appointed by the Township Trustees recommended that the Beavercreek Branch Library Building and Fire Department be retained by the Township, as permitted by the Ohio Revised Code, and that the cemeteries and parks be divided by location.

The Ohio Revised Code (ORC) does not permit a township police force to serve a city, but a city force may serve a Township the department was assigned to the City and the unincorporated portion of the Township contracted with the City for police services for about 20 years. When the voters in the unincorporated portion of the Township chose not continue all their police mileages that would permit that contract to continue, the Township Trustees contracted with the Greene County Sheriff to supply police services to that area.

Answer: In the mid 1960s a group of residents formed the Committee of Eleven to study the possibility of incorporation of the 50 square miles of Beavercreek Township to avoid annexation of land by the City of Fairborn and other municipalities. These actions were challenged in court by other factions who did not wish to become a Village (eventually a City).

The years from 1965-1979 were characterized by litigation opposing the incorporation of the entire Township.

Finally in 1979, after the lawsuits were settled, the paperwork was filed with the State of Ohio to allow Beavercreek to incorporate. The final boundaries of the proposed Village of Beavercreek were drawn omitting those areas most in contention by objectors to incorporation and only 27 square miles became the Village of Beavercreek and the remaining 23 square miles that is now part of the unincorporated portion of Beavercreek Township. The Village of Beavercreek was declared a City in January 1980. There were some areas that were annexed into Fairborn, Kettering and Xenia, reducing the unincorporated area to about 21 square miles.