MILLBURY — The Lake Township Trustees have received support for an Ohio 51 traffic light from Northwood
Council, but some opposite feedback from others.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Chairwoman Melanie Bowen read a resolution passed by Northwood Council supporting
the proposed light at Route 51 and Millbury Road. The trustees have been trying for years to get a light
there and stepped up efforts this year after one fatal and one serious accident occurred there.
After the meeting, Trustee Richard Welling said a study by the township police department shows there
have been 97 accidents on Woodville Road, from Ohio 579 to Fostoria Road, in the last 11 years.
“I was pretty shocked when I found that out,” he said.
The Ohio Department of Transportation has said the intersection does not warrant a light. However, it is
in the process of doing a study of the area that may lower the speed limit from the current 55 mph.
The Northwood resolution said the council “shares the concerns of the Lake Township Trustees and believes
there to be more potential for traffic congestion, delays and vehicular accidents at said intersection
due to increase in traffic.”
It also says a traffic control device at the intersection could spur economic development. The resolution
is dated May 14.
Also at the Tuesday meeting, the trustees voted to send letters to the editor to area newspapers, which
have ran some letters from people opposed to any light or speed limit change on Woodville Road.
“I think there’s some misconceptions and misstatements,” Welling said. “We need to set the record
straight.”
“There’s already people out there stating we lowered the speed limit,” Trustee Ron Sims said.
Bowen said she recently heard from some residents at the annual St. Jerome Festival in Walbridge who said
they were opposed to any changes on Route 51. They told her a lower speed limit would be an
inconvenience.
Bowen still believes something needs to be changed on Woodville Road.
“You’re never going to please everybody,” she said, adding that the trustees aren’t approaching this
“willy-nilly. There’s reasons why we’re asking for this.”
Also at the meeting, the trustees:
• Approved a second resolution needed to put a five-year, 1-mill fire renewal levy on the Nov. 3 ballot.
It generates about $242,000 for fire operations.
• Discussed assessing property owners for not mowing yards. Bowen said there are a number of homes that
have gone into foreclosure and are not being kept up. One solution is for the township to hire the
mowing out, then put a lien on the property. Bowen said nearby townships and villages charge between
$125 and $150 an hour. A resolution could be introduced at the next meeting.
• Awarded road paving bids to Gerkin Paving Inc., Napoleon, for $70,413, for Keller Road from Luckey Road
to East Broadway, and Bowers Asphalt and Paving Inc., Walbridge, for $32,185, for Lemoyne Road east to
the concrete pavement.
• Renewed its buildings, vehicles and equipment insurance policy with Hylant Administrative Services
Inc., for a year for $68,639. Bowen said this was a “modest decrease” from the $68,817 the township paid
last year. However, she said, the township added the new police Tahoe trucks this year and the police
dogs, which are insured for $10,000 apiece.
• Approved spending $1,400 for station 2 firefighters Brandon Lohmeyer and Matt Winkle to attend a basic
EMT class at the Oregon Career and Technology Center.