Brimfield trustees dissolve business manager post, retain bond counsel and move to validate up to $1M in bonds; solid-waste vote shows clerical inconsistency

Trustee Nicholas Coia called the Brimfield Township Board of Trustees to order at 8:00 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2025, and the board addressed personnel, financing and zoning business before adjourning at 10:46 a.m.

Trustee Nicholas Coia moved to dissolve the position of Brimfield Township business manager effective immediately; the motion was seconded by Trustee Mike Kostensky and approved by roll call. The minutes record the vote as unanimous "yea."

Shortly afterward the board approved an engagement letter to retain the law firm Dinsmore & Shohl LLP to serve as bond counsel on a planned financing and to represent the township in a related validation proceeding. Trustee Sue Fields moved the engagement; the motion passed by roll call.

The trustees then adopted Resolution No. 2025-271, moved by Trustee Mike Kostensky, which directs the township to file a complaint in the Portage County Court of Common Pleas under Ohio Revised Code Section 133.70 to obtain a judicial determination of the township's authority to issue additional unvoted bonds and/or bond anticipation notes estimated not to exceed $1,000,000. The resolution cites prior Township debt of $8,500,000 (including $390,000 of bond anticipation notes and $8,110,000 of bonds) issued for the fire station and administration building project and says the additional funds are sought to pay cost overruns and complete the project.

The board's minutes also record two executive sessions. At 8:27 a.m. trustees moved into executive session under Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22(G) for matters including employment and conferences with the township attorney; they returned at 9:48 a.m. A second executive session beginning at 10:24 a.m. addressed compensation/employment matters and concluded at 10:45 a.m.

Dawn Collins of the Portage County Solid Waste and Recycling District presented county programs, access rates and the CHARM program and asked the board to adopt the county's solid waste management plan. Trustee Mike Kostensky moved to adopt the plan; the roll call recorded in the minutes lists all three trustees as "yea." However, the minutes also record the line "Motion fail," creating an internal inconsistency in the record about whether the plan was adopted. The minutes provide no explanation for the discrepancy.

Trustee Sue Fields moved to schedule two zoning public hearings for Sept. 3, 2025 — one at 7:30 a.m. on proposed amendments to Chapter 7 (Sign Code) and another at 7:45 a.m. on proposed amendments to Chapter 3 and Appendix E; both motions passed by roll call. In parks business, Trustee Mike Kostensky moved to rescind Motion #2025-141 concerning removal of a storage container at Town Center Fields; that motion passed.

During public comment, longtime township employee Patti Harjung said she had worked for the township for 33 years and urged trustees and residents to treat every employee "politely, with dignity and respect." Other speakers raised concerns about transparency, the fiscal officer hiring process and limitations on resident speaking time and praised road maintenance.

The meeting record shows the trustees took votes on a series of administrative minutes and motions earlier in the agenda, and agreed to table purchase orders and warrants by unanimous roll call. The meeting adjourned at 10:46 a.m., and the minutes were signed by trustees as a true and accurate record.

Note on minutes inconsistency: the board minutes record both unanimous "yea" roll-call votes on the Portage County solid waste management plan and a separate entry stating "Motion fail." The minutes do not explain this discrepancy; the transcript does not contain any later reversal or clarifying vote on that item.