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Residents press trustees on levy timing, property taxes and neighborhood enforcement
Summary
Multiple residents told trustees they fear higher property taxes from the Lakota bond and asked for help with graffiti, trash and nuisance properties; trustees and staff committed to follow up with code enforcement and legal counsel.
Several residents used the meeting’s public‑comment periods to press trustees on property taxes, school financing, blighted properties and neighborhood safety.
Leigh Rudkey asked detailed questions about the Lakota bond and levy timing: when collections would start, whether decommissioned school land could be sold or repurposed, the phasing of construction and whether the district’s square footage would increase. Rudkey said many neighbors were “feeling very fragile about this levy.”
Ray Helfmann described persistent graffiti, long‑running exterior clutter and other property maintenance problems at a nearby home and asked the township for enforcement and a stronger patrol presence. Code/enforcement staff (speaker 18) said the department was aware of the graffiti complaint, would follow up beginning the next day and that some matters raise separate legal questions that staff and legal counsel are addressing.
Mark Heverkost raised broader concerns about property‑tax increases and asked why state legislators have not acted on county tax pressures; he also asked the trustees to consider the district’s 32% OFCC match as money that must ultimately be funded through local tax structures. Conversely, Chris Hopper urged trustees to support the Lakota bond and to take advantage of state matching funds, saying, “If we don’t pass this bond levy we lose those dollars.”
Trustees and staff responded: legal counsel said they had been working with staff on the graffiti matter but that attorney‑client considerations limited detailed public discussion; staff said they would follow up with the residents who spoke. Trustees also acknowledged concerns from seniors about long‑term tax increases and said those concerns were part of ongoing public conversations around the ballot.
What the township will do next: staff committed to follow up with the resident who requested help and to coordinate with legal counsel and enforcement. Trustees directed staff to return with any necessary administrative actions to address code and nuisance issues.
