"PONDER" RON PONDER' 'S OP-ED QUESTIONS RE: TRUMP'S STARK COUNTY REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP SUPPORT

"A picture says 1,000 words," the adage goes.

As the picture above shows, Stark County's leading Republican leaders:

• Stark County commissioner Bill Smith (then candidate Bill Smith),
• Stark Count commissioner Richard Regula,
• Stark County treasurer Alex Zumbar,
• Stark County GOP vice president Jane Timken (now Trump supported Ohio GOP chair),
• Stark County Republican chair Jeff Matthews, and
• Stark County 50th House District Christina Hagan 

in deciding to show up in September, 2016 to a Donald J. Trump campaign rally were "all-in" with the most outrageous major political party candidate to ever run for president of the United States of America.

Not there because of a "prior commitment,"  but equally supportive of the incorrigible Trump at that time, was Stark County commissioner Janet Creighton.  Countywide, Creighton is the most powerful vote getting candidate that today's local Republican Party has to offer.

In an Op-ed piece in The Repository yesterday former WHBC talk show host Ron Ponder (Points to Ponder) in writing about the Trump presidency to date  (Sometimes I hate to be right) had these poignant questions to ask of our local/Ohio politicos:

But what about local Republicans in locales like Stark County? Where do they stand? With Trump? And where do the candidates for state offices stand, such as the Republican candidates for governor? Do they support this man? Do they support his policies? Do they support his methods? 

Will the Republican Party itself be identified as being racist? Will this perception of the Republican Party “trickle down” to DeWine, Husted, Renacci and Taylor, Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidates? Would it be fair to do that? Should they answer for the sins of Trump?

It is "fitting and proper" to ask the posed questions of politicians that many of us rub shoulders with.

Compliments to Ponder for devoting yesterday's piece to pointing the "accountability" finger at local/Ohio political leaders.  The only thing missing was at the Stark County level; naming names.

The Stark County Political Report (SCPR) does name names and, of course, show pictures of those named "in action."

Look at Stark GOP chair Jeff Matthews clapping for Trump.

Moreover, it was a bit bizarre to see the 50ish Jane Timken acting the high school cheerleader at the Trump sited Canton rally of September, 2016.

Back to the Ponder piece:  "Should they answer for the sins of Trump?"

Indeed, they should except perhaps for Mike DeWine who seems to have kept a "I'm not too sure about this guy" distance from the irrepressible president.

Ponder does not mention him, but Republican and Governor John Kasich is to be lauded for his sense of political decency and his intuitive reflect of "ya know, there is something highly troubling about this guy" as a president of the U.S. stance.

Back on July 28, 2016 (right after Trump in mid-July had been nominated as the Republican Party candidate for president), Ponder emceed, in the wake of police/African-American citizen confrontations sprinkled across the nation, a local forum on police/community relations at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

Before the event got underway, Ponder asked me what I thought of the Trump phenomenon.

My response:  "I can't get beyond (the largely Trumpian) lack of 'civility' aspect" of his rise to the head of the national Republican Party let alone his inflammatory policy pronouncements along with his disrespectful of women, Muslims, African-Americans and others rhetoric.

Who can forget his over-the-top aspersions cast on his fellow candidates.  Here are a few:

• Lying Ted,
• Little Marco,
• "Many lies by Ben Carson,"
• "Nasty," (Jeb Bush), and
• "No honor," (Lindsey Graham),

Daresay that none of the Stark County/Ohio Republican leaders listed in this blog would engage anyone who insulted them in the manner in which Trump insulted and continues to disparage those who differ with him.

Nor should they.

However, in embracing Trump (September, 2016), they all showed an incredible lack of sound judgement on discerning minimally acceptable political campaigning behavior or, alternatively, are so blinded to and by Republican Party political interests that they reveal themselves as being suspect in assessing and acting in the public interest over and above their political party identity.

As they stand now, the likes of Matthews, Hagan, Smith, Regula, Creighton, Zumbar, Timken, Renacci, Taylor and Husted have a lot of explaining to do.

Moreover, they carry the burden of offering that their "all-out" support of Trump was a rare mis-step in judgement not to be repeated.

Silence is not good enough.

A recent poll shows that most Americans including many Republicans are embarrassed by the rhetoric of Donald J. Trump.

The question is as a follow up to the Ponder Op-ed:  Are our Stark County Republican leaders sufficiently embarrassed in having supported Trump for president willing to admit in having made a "mistake in judgement" that has brought harm to the United States of America?

If not, Stark Countians should weigh-in on the lack of an apology in their having engaged the insupportable misjudgment in having  backed the caustic Trump in any their future election/re-election bids.

IS CANTON CITY COUNCIL UP TO PROTECTING A CRITICALLY "VITAL" WATER SUPPLY FOR ITSELF & STARK COUNTY?

VIDEO

Bethlehem Township Resident

Richard Regula

Speaks Out on Navarre Area Spill

Recently, it came to light (discovered by the Ohio EPA on April 13, 2017) that there was a "in the process of construction"  natural gas pipeline (Rover) drilling mud spill in Navarre located in Bethlehem Township, home of Stark County commissioner Richard Regula.

Later on in this blog, I will share Regula's in depth observations (via videotaped interview done yesterday) about the occurrence of the spill, its remediation and how our Ohio and national governments are responding.

However, an aspect of the spill that the commissioner did not know much about, that is to say—the city of Canton government—should be one that Cantonians and indeed

Initially, the company doing the drilling put out a press release saying that nearby wells and other major water supply wells (e.g. Canton's Sugarcreek well field, the Tuscarawas river, et cetera) were not at risk for contamination.

A number of years ago (December, 2010), I recall being at an event put on by Canton City Council president Allen Schulman in which he was touting Canton very large drinking water resources as a major asset in the arsenal of infrastructure with which Canton might lure job producing industry and commerce to come to Canton and Stark County.

Another key component of the-then being established Canton Water Commission (headed up by Schulman) was the "protection" of the water supply.

Why have a mission protecting Canton's drinking water supply?

The meeting occurred about the time that fracking for natural gas first came to Stark County.

Then Plain Township trustee (now Stark County clerk of courts) Louis Giavasis was the very first Stark County public official to note of the arrival of fracking the inherent dangers/problems that some see in fracking if not closely monitored and controlled by all levels of government; especially state and local governments.

Another key player in bringing Stark County-based public attention to the dangers that might affect Stark County is long time Stark County civic activist Chris Borello who now lives in Plain Township but formerly lived in Lake Township from whence she commenced her opposition (in the early 1980s) to the ways and means that the U.S. EPA, the Ohio EPA, Stark County-based legislative officials and other local government officials (specifically, the-then township trustees) were ineffectively dealing with dangers to public health potential posed by the Uniontown industrial landfill.

The landfill was the dumping ground for industrial wastes (some highly toxic) buried at a site about 1/2 mile south of Uniontown on the east side of Cleveland Avenue.

Strangely enough, all the hullabaloo generated by Schulman has faded away in terms of a continuing public highlighting of  marketability/protection of Canton's valuable water resource.

Why?

Likely because a consensus of government officials (in a macro view sense) post-2010-onset-alarm developed that Canton government was on-top-of-the-matter and there was very little if anything for the general public to be alarmed about.

With the April 13 discovered by the Ohio EPA Energy Transfers Partners (ETP) spill in Navarre, the alarm bells are again ringing loudly these days.

Despite the initial ETP assurances that the spill was nothing to be concerned about back in April, the controversy lives on on June 22, 2017.

This past Monday, Canton City Council had its water superintendent Tyler Converse come to council and deal with questions on whether or not Canton/Stark County-based Canton water customers had any reason to be concerned about in terms of whether or not the public could feel comfortable with drinking water from the Sugarcreek water facility.

Converse said that Sugarcreek wellfield was about 1/2 mile away from the spill and that he felt that it was very unlikely that any pollutants borne by migrating contaminated (according to the Ohio EPS) drilling mud would make it to Sugarcreek.

But Converse could not absolutely say that the migration would not take place; only, if it did, it would take six to nine months.

Another cautionary flag that Bethlehem locals (well water users), Cantonians and those of us out in the townships/Massillon (via Aqua Ohio) who pipe in generated water from wells located in the spill area, the fact that Canton has hired a law firm to look out for Canton and its customers' interests with regard to whatever longer term problems might develop with the water supply, should Converse be wrong and the contaminated drill mud does get into the Sugarcreek watershed.

It appears that the Ohio EPA is boring in on and staying intimately involved in monitoring and supervising the clean up.

The intense interest of Canton City Council as demonstrated in having the city's water superintendent stay on top of the matter and reporting to council on a continuing basis is encouraging that members are focused on protecting this critically important asset.

Mostly, these days, Canton is struggling to stay afloat with relatively little to cheer about.

Even the Pro Football Hall of Fame expansion project which Canton has invested $5 million in continues to have its skeptics as to whether or not the project will come anywhere near what Canton needs in terms of a economic development boon on the shoulders of which Canton hopes to pull itself out of financial/economic mire.

Sources tell me that the stadium rebuild project is now at $130 million and that the total project is estimated to cost some $800 million and that it is a puzzlement where the money will come from.

One source said that one of the more disturbing aspects of the project is that some of it is being paid for with borrowed (bond) money.

What Canton can be assured of is the tremendous value of its pristine water supply.  While a Canton asset, it has potential to redound to the benefit all of Stark County.

So its up to Canton/Stark County citizens, Canton government, Stark County government, the Ohio EPA and FERC to go all out in protecting this precious resource.

As indicated earlier in this article, a lead Stark County citizen in monitoring developments in dealing with the spill is Plain Township resident Chris Borello.

Here is the core comment of an e-mail she sent out (copied to a number of Canton city officials including council president Allen Schulman)  on June 2nd:

Sent: Fri, Jun 2, 2017 12:51 pm

Subject: Fwd: Rover Pipeline faces more environmental scrutiny

Folks,

This is exactly why I urged proper testing of the "spill", including water soluble radium 226, questioning whether the drilling muds could possibly be "recycled" given what all we have ready about the industry re - using various materials, asking if indeed, it could be "crapped up."

Now, citizens need to know what other parameters /chemicals were tested for , including radium, ( and be assured that proper scientific methods are used in the process, ie., gamma spec)....

Hopefully now the local newspapers will also listen to the concerns by those living near the Stark Countywide Landfill concerning the smoldering landfill fire and concerns about the proximity of this same pipeline to the landfill...!

Chris for Stark County Concerned Citizens

For its part, Aqua Ohio says that its on-going monitoring of water quality of its supply shows no contamination.

As indicated above, the SCPR sat down with Richard Regula (mainly in his role as a lifetime Bethlehem Township resident but peripherally as a Stark County commissioner) who has taken a deep interest in the spill having occurred and following up with state officialdom in a quest to see his community interests and the local and countywide water supply being remediated and protected.

Here is that video (16:44)

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, STARK DEVELOPMENT BOARD ET AL FAIL TO CONNECT THE DOTS?

Yesterday, likely owing to what the SCPR thinks is an incestuous-esque tie-in with The Canton Repository (former executive editor David Kaminski is the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce [Chamber] public relations main man), the Chamber's chief executive (along with several member entities' executives) got front and center entree to the pages of Stark County's only countywide newspaper to state their case for Stark County economic development.

Very few Stark Countians ever get such an opportunity.

While The Rep is not what it used to be, other than the Stark County Political Report (staffed by one person), it is a main pathway for local leaders to communicate with the Stark County public.

And, of course, in the four-author-shared-piece (Future of  Route 30 is vital to Stark County; Saunier/CEO/Chamber, Paquette/CEO/Stark Development Board Nash/CEO/Kenan and Sibila/Peoples Services), in Sunday's Repository, they only told part of the story on why Stark County is in jeopardy of falling further behind the rest of northeast Ohio's communities in the race to recover from the September, 2008 America "near" economic collapse and to use the recovery modality to bootstrap into realizing not only recovery but beyond that into an economic boon the which Stark County has not seen in a very long, long, long time.

The SCPR thinks that Saunier, Paquettee, Nash and Sibila are "spot-on" in pushing a project like Route U.S. 30 widening all the way to Pittsburgh as being one of a number of vital economic development cogs  to be realized in the quest for Stark County to have any chance whatsoever for a bright economic development future.

But nobody should think for a nanosecond that Stark's economic development future is keyed in so narrowly on Route 30 (as a corridor to the east) or even the expansion of Interstate 77 (as an enhanced commercial-way to the south).

There is much more that needs to be done with Stark's infrastructure on a number of fronts in order for Stark Countians to feel confident that Stark's public officials are on a track to ensure that future generations of Stark Countians will have a better economic development footprint than the county now has.

The SCPR understands that the focus of the column was on U.S. Route 30 and Interstate 77 because the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) recently issued an analysis of the transportation needs/plans? in a report named AccessOhio2040.

The Stark County Political Report today focuses on why Stark County is in the condition it is in (i.e. little if any local funding sources)  - so that it is laughable that ODOT's Jerry Wray (The Rep's companion piece, Local leaders rally against ODOT planning map) is reported as saying, to wit:

In a meeting at Stark State on Nov. 25, Wray told business leaders that if local governments and companies could provide much of the money that would improve the chances of extending Route 30.

Usually for high capital improvement projects money made available by the state or federal government, the local match ranges from 10% to 50%. 

For ODOT's Wray to say "much of the money" needs to come from local sources is like saying forget it Stark County in getting any financial help from the state of Ohio "you are on your own!"

To which the SCPR adds:

"Stark Countians, haven't you gotten the clear message that has come from the Kasich administration and the Ohio General Assembly since January, 2011?"

Less money; not more money is the central message insofar as the state of Ohio is concerned vis-a-vis its political subdivisions.

And even before the Kasich administration went draconian in 2011 and 2012, in one way or another Republican members of the Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly (John Hagan and Todd Snitchler along with continuing-to-this-day Republican delegation members Scott Oelslager [the 29th Senate district] and Kirk Schuring [the 48th House district; formerly the 51st]) have worked with the Republican majority (except for two years that the Ohio House was controlled by the Democrats during the Strickland administration) to undermine local government finances and began the process that culminated with the gigantic Kasich administration sabotaging of local government funding '11 and '12.

So Director Wray "there ain't no 'much of the money'" for Stark local government to ante up.  And who believes that private companies will be forking any out anytime soon?

That Chamber is agitating for better treatment from ODOT is an implicit plea for more government money to be applied to Stark's vital commercial arteries to the east and south.

Being the political hypocrite he is, Kirk Schuring is quoted in the same Repository article, to wit:

Undoubtedly, the likes of Saunier, Paquette, Nash and Sibila ("the four") think that Republicans  Christina Hagan (of Marlboro Township) , Oelslager (of Plain Township) and Schuring (of Jackson Township) are terrific representatives.

"The four" are likely prone to be the first to glad-hand this legislative trio when they appear in Stark County.  And, of course, The Repository editors - "election in, election out" - endorse the three as being the best that Stark County can send to Columbus.

While it is all well and good for "the four" to try to rally everyday citizens to their cause in commenting on the ODOT plan (as the SCPR advocates that Stark Countians should make their collective voices heard); it is regrettably clear to The Report that the effort will prove futile.

For Stark County - due in large part to the work done over recent years by the likes of the Hagans, Snitchler, Oelslager and Schuring - has no meaningful local money to provide "much of the money."

To be sure, it is not only the Stark's Republicans at the Statehouse who have been factors in depleting Stark's local government funding.

Stark Countians should be placing part of the blame on the 2008 Stark County Board of Commissioners (Bosley and Harmon [Democrats], and Vignos [a Republican]) for "imposing a 0.50 sales tax).

The SCPR thinks that this triad set Stark County finances back more than anybody realizes in terms of undermining the public's confidence that the commissioners' are interested in hearing from Mr. and Ms. Citizen as to whether or not they think the county should have more money.

While the current Stark County Board of Commissioners:

• Thomas Bernabei [a Democrat], 
• Janet Creighton [a Republican], and 
• Richard Regula [a Republican] have done much to restore the public's confidence that the commissioners seek out and listen to them, the fact of the matter is that they:
• SCPR Note:  [Peter Ferguson - a Democrat - was commissioner before Regula when the decision was made],

had to go "bare bones" in asking for a 0.5% sales tax increase for eight years (which Stark Countians passed in November, 2011) because:

• of the damage that the Bosley, Harmon and Vignos board had done, and 

and because

• the damage done when nearly $3 million was stolen from the county treasury probably over a 5 to 6 year (thought to be 2003/2004 through March, 2009) span by former chief deputy treasurer Vince Frustaci,

the SCPR thought and said at the time (early 2011, when the levy increase was put together) that the commissioners should have put a full 1% request on the ballot.

It is understandable that the commissioners felt hamstrung and limited in what they could ask for.

Just a word on the loss of the nearly $3 million.

The damage done to the commissioners' ability to ask for more than a 0.5% increase, many Stark Countians believe - in reference to the Frustaci matter - was due to a public perception that the-then Democratic county treasurer Gary D. Zeigler (originally appointed by the Stark County Democratic Party Central Committee in 1999 who served until October 19, 2011) did not have in place adequate practices, policies, procedures and physical facilities to have prevented the theft.

Zeigler consistently rejected (in media reports) that he was in any way remiss in the administration of his office.

Understandable or not, the fact of the matter is that Stark County is on a very tight budget and there is "no extra money" to put into something like a local match for U.S. Route 30 expansion.

The major blame though, the SCPR thinks lies with Stark's Republican dominated delegation to the Ohio General Assembly and their unwillingness to fight the firestorm rush in the legislature the draconian cuts (millions of dollars in Stark County alone) in local government funding.

There is no doubt that Hagan, Oelslager, and Schuring have been key factors by way of  their supportive votes of the Kasich administration initiative to cut local government funding and now Stark County is "reaping what they have sown" and the financial "Chickens are - now - coming - home - to - roost."

This year Stark Countians will have Christina Hagan, Kirk Schuring and Scott Oelslager on the ballot once again seeking reelection.

If they are voted in again, then Stark Countian voters in effect ratify (double ratify in the case of Hagan and Schuring) their legislative work to undermine Stark's local governments from having the financial resources to participate in essential economic development infrastructure improvements and enhancements.

The SCRP is reasonably sure that Stark's Randy Gonzalez-led Democrats will not be able to mount and effective campaign with politically viable candidates against Hagan, Oelslager and Schuring and they, consequently, will be returned to the Statehouse for a new term.

Hmm?

So what is the alternative for Stark County government to have the resources to get into serious and effective economic development infrastructure projects?

Doesn't a November, 2014 vote validating Hagan, Oelslager and Schuring mean that Stark Countians should be willing to approve additional revenue sourse (e.g. bumping the sales tax up to a full 1%) to provide monies to fund economic development essentials such as pushed by "the four?"

In a videotaped conversation that the SCPR had with Commissioner Janet Creighton last Monday, she drooled over the fact that Franklin County has a $190 million "rainy day" fund.

While Stark County should have an emergency fund, it should be no more than $5 million.

What would be more visionary and enhancing of Stark County's economic development would be for the county to be able to put $15 million or so in an economic development fund annually (a full 1% sales tax levy would raise about $45 million)?

For Stark County governments to have local match capacity and monies for other types of capital projects,  the commissioners could use/revise (on the agreement of the political subdivisons) the formula currently in place among Stark County's political subdivisions (i.e. the SCOG [Stark County Council of Governments] funding mechanism:  consisting of Stark's villages, cities and townships [and the county itself]), to take the extra $22 million or so over current revenues that a full 1% would produce and distribute the revenues for the political subdivisions to use "exclusively" for economic development purposes.

Now that Hagan, Oelslager and Schuring "chickens have come home to roost," as the SCPR sees it, there is nothing else for Stark Countians to do (presumably in this fall's election having chosen to keep them in office) but to square up with the reality that it will take a local taxes revenue boost if future generations of Stark Countians are going to have a bright economic future, no?

A "FRIENDLY" FIGHT AMONG STARK COUNTY'S EMERGENCY FORCES FOR $2.35 MILLION IN COUNTY FUNDS?

UPDATE:  03/05/2013 AT 2:30 PM

PROJECT MGR JOE CONCATTO E-MAIL

Martin,

The Request for Competitive Sealed Proposals for a Countywide Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) System for Stark County was designed around three Dispatch Centers in the County which are the Canton Communication Center, the Sheriff's Dispatch Center and the RED Center.

There are six other Dispatch Centers in Stark County which are CenCom, Alliance, North Canton, Minerva, Plain Fire and Perry Police.  

The County 9-1-1 Call Center does not use a CAD system.  Although the system was designed around three centers the other six would also have the ability to join.  The connectivity between all nine dispatch centers would be the same as the new Next Gen 9-1-1 connectivity.

The CAD bid (which is 90% software) consists of two parts; one, the CAD and Mobile Data Computer system; and, two a five year maintenance cost.

The plan is for the the County to pay for the CAD and Mobile Data system, however, the maintenance fee would be shar[e]d among those dispatch centers th[at] would connect to the system. 

After we determine which proposal is chosen, which will then identify the cost for 5 years of maintenance, we will then go first to the three dispatch centers and see if there is a desire to join.  We have yet to approach the other six dispatch centers because we don't know what it would cost for them to join.  As you know, no one will commit without knowing their annual cost.

The CAD Project Team which includes members of each of the three dispatch center along with our CAD Consultant and me are reviewing the vendor bids and hope to have a group of finalist (one to three) by the end of March.  

At that time we will have an idea of the costs for both the system and the maintenance fee.  We can then approach all the dispatch centers regarding their interest in being part of a countywide CAD System.

ORIGINAL BLOG

 VIDEO

Commissioner Tom Bernabei

on

WHAT TO DO WITH STARK'S $2.35 MILLON
 ON 
   9-1-1? 

The Stark County commissioners have a daunting task in front of them.

How to spend $2.35 million in dedicated funds (i.e. though in the general fund, set aside) in the continuing effort to upgrade 9-1-1 emergency call receiving and emergency vehicle/personnel dispatch to Stark Countians in dire need of EMS, fire and police services?

Unfortunately, for the commissioners; no matter which choice they make, it is unlikely that the impact of spending the money will be all that apparent to Stark County taxpayers and citizens who use the county's EMS, fire and police emergency services.

Unfortunate?

Indeed!  In this day and age of heightened accountability, it is a very unhappy day for a public official to plow money into unseen, unfelt (by taxpaying consumers) but vitally essential infrastructure improvements.

Elected officials are likely to live or die politically at the hand of a public perception that they are/are not doing things that tangibly benefit the public.

Last Tuesday, 9-1-1 Project Manager Joe Concatto (former Canton fire chief and Creighton administration safety director) appeared before commissioners in one of their frequent work sessions (generally held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday in each week) to advocate (sort of) for them to agree to purchase a state-of-the-art Computed Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.

Sort of?

Yes, in the opinion of the SCPR.

While Concatto certainly would like to see a new CAD installed in Stark, he realizes that there are just so many dollars to go around and a key component for a successful CAD operation is to have all Stark County emergency services providers to also have state-of-the-art radio interoperability radio system.

And even the direction to go with the radios option is not quite as simple as buying enough state-of-the-art 800 mhz radios to ensure that each and every nook and cranny Stark County provider of emergency services are, so to speak, "on the same [radio] wave length."

North Canton and Canton Township have already signed on to the State of Ohio MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communication System - LINK).

MARCS is believed by many in the emergency services field to be the ultimate goal of integrated radio communication between and among all emergency forces within Ohio.

Another "this is the future" factor is that the State of Ohio has a State CAD system that many believe is where all State of Ohio political subdivisions (e.g. Canton, the Stark County sheriff's department, Nimshillen's CenCom and the like) are heading longterm.

The question is likely not if MARCS and the State of Ohio CAD system will one day reign supreme, but when.

It is the timing of the "when" (in terms of statewide integration of radios and CAD) that is the puzzler for local emergency forces and the commissioners; not the "if."

So there may be a need to do a Stark County CAD and/or upgrading of the Stark County 800 mhz radio system in order to have first rate emergency service in Stark even if longterm the answer is integrating with the State of Ohio because the "longterm" is not near enough.

So the order of the day for the financial efficiencies of Stark County-sited taxpayers (whether they be at the village, city or township levels) seems to be to the SCPR to not jump off in different directions but to hold the course until the efficiencies can be figured out.

But given "Good Ole Stark County" and its deep-seated territorialism, its turfism; one can depend on various local government agencies going off on a tangent (i.e. from the mainstream) and doing their own gig that may undermine the county effort as a whole.

But these mavericks line up for monies designated for Stark County as if they are looking at county well-being as a whole.

In all, there are six Stark County local governments (according to Concatto) who have strayed from a unified countywide fix to 9-1-1 in all of its aspects so as to facilitate Stark County's achieving a complete 9-1-1 system that is among, if not the absolute best in all of Ohio.

The divisions, The Report believes, started with Nimishillen Township which is both a touch ironic and logical.

Ironic in the sense that the SCPR believes that there once was a plan for Nimshillen's CenCom to be the King Kong of a revamped Stark County 9-1-1 system.

Logical that Nimishillen should separate from the countywide rehab if its CenCom could not dominate in the sense that:

• the township had a huge mortgage on its CenCom building, and if it was not to be the core of the countywide effort (and impliedly generate for Nimishillen the funds needed to service its mortgage),
• then Nimishillen had to compete with the countywide effort in order to make township financial ends meet.

Fire Chief Rich Peterson of Nimishillen originally back in the mid-2000s appears to The Report to have formed a political alliance with the-then Nimishillen trustee Todd Bosley to forge a political campaign for Bosley to become a Stark County commissioner, and from that perch shepherd a rebuild of what was widely believed to be a broken Stark County 9-1-1 system.

The Report believes that as part of the the Bosley/Peterson plan, Nimishillen's CenCom was to become the flagship site for the rebuilt, state-of-the-art Stark County 9-1-1 which would be headed up by guess who?  You've got it:  Rich Peterson.

By the way, Peterson denies that being the head of a repaired 9-1-1 was ever his objective.  However, the SCPR does not buy his denial.

Democrat Bosley was elected by a narrow margin over Republican Richard Regula (who in 2012 regained his office) and proceeded to talk fellow commissioners Tom Harmon (a Democrat) and Jane Vignos (a Republican) into imposing a 0.5% sales tax with the apparent objective of providing adequate, if not surplus monies, to bring 9-1-1 call receiving and dispatch up to state-of-the-art.

Longtime advocate for rehabbing 9-1-1 Randy Gonzalez  must have thought he died and went to heaven.

He is a key figure in the Stark County Council of Governments (SCOG) which commissioned a study in 2007/2008 on the state of repair/disrepair of Stark's 9-1-1.

He has been working about 20 years on improving Stark's 9-1-1 system.

However, he has had to come back to earth.

Stark Countians rose up in droves to repeal the tax in November, 2009 (under a movement led by local civic activist and attorney Craig T. Conley) and, of course, consequently Bosley was "political" toast as he moved off running for reelection as commissioner onto running for state representative for the 50th Ohio House District.

And in the jockeying between Peterson, RED Center director Mark Busto, the-then Canton safety director Tom Nesbitt and Concatto for the project directorship, Concatto won out probably as a compromise between Bosley and his political adversaries in the Stark County EMS, fire and police community.

A thing or two needs to be said for Bosley.

But for his action in convincing Harmon and Vignos to impose the December, 2008 0.5% sales tax on Stark Countians:

• the county would not have a 9-1-1 system that is nearly in good a shape as it is now, and
• the county would not have survived the financial crash as well as it did during the lean times of 2010 and 2011.

A strong reason - the SCPR is told by the proponents of the repeal of the imposed sales tax - that the repeal prevailed by a very, very large margin is that the tax included monies for Stark County's general fund which was facing hard times even when Bosley was commissioner.

The repeal proponents say, the campaign to retain the imposed sales tax:

• focused exclusively on the 9-1-1 factor,
• while not mentioning or, at the very least,downplaying the general fund revenue factor
• which, they believe, enabled them to convince Stark Countians to reject continuing the tax.

In the interim, "you can depend on him to be a problem, if he is not in control of the finished product."

Depend on "him?"

Yes, "him" being, of course, Canton Mayor William J. Healy, II, who at first was a zealot for the 9-1-1 countywide fix, promising Canton's full cooperation.

However, when it became obvious that Canton was not going to dominate, he withdrew Canton's support for an all-out countywide 9-1-1 operation and has remained largely incommuicado with Gonazlez and Concatto on Canton's role ever since.

Another irony of Tuesday's commissioners' work session is that:

• one of the alternatives 
• (maybe even, the most likely alternative) 
• for the spending of the $2.35 million 
• (as communicated by former Canton police chief Dean McKimm - now the head of Canton's call receiving/dispatch center and who had with him John Whitlatch and Raymond Friedmann of the Canton Fire Department)  
• would fix Canton's way-out-of-date CAD system were commissioners to select the CAD option.

Another stroke of good fortune for Mayor Healy?

Hmm?

Or, perhaps, another example of "what goes around, comes around" if the commissioners choose not to go with accepting a CAD bid?

Also weighing in on Tuesday last, was Mark Busto as head of the RED (Regional Emergency Dispatch) Center which serves much of western Stark County.  He had with him Assistant Director Jamie Wood also of the center.

Busto seemed equally satisfied whichever way the commissioners elect to go.

The RED Center, the Stark County sheriff's 9-1-1 center, and the City of Canton Communications Center each serve about 100,000 Stark Countians.  The rest of Stark County (about 78,000 according to the 2010 census) is served by a variety of smaller 9-1-1 centers.

The person in Stark County that the SCPR is most on top of what ought to be done with the $2.35 million is, in the opinion of The Report, Commissioner Tom Bernabei.

Bernabei sits on the board of SCOG (which provides funding for 9-1-1 and for the Stark County Crime Lab) and has devoted countless hours in trying to become informed on matters that play large into what direction Stark County should take in parsing out the $2.35 million.

As readers of the SCPR know, yours truly does not pass out many accolades to Stark County local government officials and political figures.

But Bernabei is an exception.

Stark Countians can feel assured that Bernabei will have done his homework by the time decision day arrives on dispensing the $2.35 million and that it is likely that Commissioners Janet Creighton and Richard Regula will have wisdom to follow his recommendation.

While The Report has had a difference or two with Bernabei, he remains responsive to yours truly's probing questions.

He presents a mature governmental/political figure model for the overly-sensitive and "I want to be unaccountable" types (all too many of them who populate Stark County government and politics), who clam up when the tough questions come.

In the video presented below,  Bernabei makes the following points bearing on what factors are in play as the commissioners contemplate how they will apply the $2.35 million:

• follow SCOG's recommendation:
• that the commissioners first apply the money to purchase a CAD system,
• that any excess monies be used to purchase state-of-art 800 mhz radios (which cost about $4,000 each) to distribute throughout Stark County's emergency forces towards meeting an ultimate goal that everyone have an inter-agency-operable radio (i.e. between and among Stark County EMS, fire and police units),
• on a RFP (request for proposal - about 165 pages in length) bid put out by the commissioners which generated 13 bids (about twice the size of the 165 page RFP) only one of which was from an Ohio based company, the committee formed to review the RFPs narrowed the field from which to select to three which bids (which include both the software and a five year maintenance coverage) came in at:
• $2.109 million,
• $2.15 million, and
• $2.785 million; respectively
• with the caveat that each Stark County entity (e.g. Canton, Stark County, the RED Center and other users) will be charged, if a CAD system is purchased, a fee for their proportional uses,
• alternatively (as a possible disposition of the $2.35 million terms of holding on to it for the foreseeable future, perhaps, two to three years down the road), Bernabei discusses the possible financial benefit for Stark County to wait for Ohio's MARCS system to mature to NextGen and then Stark County upgrading some of its 10 transmission towers to allow MARCS to penetrate buildings so that it could be used by Stark's fire departments,
• alternatively, holding the $2.35 million in 9-1-1 rainy day fund in order to be in a financial position to join in with the State of Ohio's CAD system when the timing in ripe

Here is a videotaped Bernabei SCPR interview wherein he reviews quite thoroughly the options that the commissioners are considering in making the soon forthcoming decision as to what to do with $2.35 million of Stark County taxpayer dollars.

SCPR 2013 EDITION OF STARK COUNTY PUBLIC OFFICIAL, PUBLIC FIGURE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION