Staff photo / J.T. Whitehouse Members of BSA Troop 8115 out of Lord of Life Church attended the Canfield Township meeting on Tuesday to fulfill a requirement for rank advancement. From left are Katie Andre, 14, Aleah West, 11, and Audrey Gensburg, 12.

CANFIELD — Three members of BSA Troop 8115 out of Lord of Life Church in Canfield attended the Canfield Township trustees meeting Tuesday to fulfill the requirements for rank advancement.

The girls, Katie Andre, 14, Aleah West, 11, and Audrey Gensburg, 12 , were able to come early and ask questions of the trustees to learn more about their local government.

One question involved why Trustee Joe Paloski was marked abstained on one of the resolutions involving the Cardinal Joint Fire District.

“Since I serve on the CJFD board of directors, I abstain from voting on any issue involving the fire district,” Paloski said.

The girls sat through the regular meeting to see how the township functions.

The issue involving the fire district was a lease agreement between the township and CJFD for the “real property” at 5007 Messerly Road.

That address, also known as Fire Station 3, was approved for an updated lease agreement between the two entities for $1 per year with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2023. No end date was listed in the motion.

It passed 2-0 with trustees Marie Cartwright and Brian Governor voting yes and Paloski abstaining.

In other business, a motion was approved to enter into an agreement with the Mahoning County commissioners to receive a $30,000 grant for the purpose of an informational digital sign in front of township hall. The sign would be used for public meeting notifications and public service announcements, but is subject to a variance by the City of Canfield.

Governor said the sign did not meet the city’s sign regulations, and since the township hall is located within the city, it would have to comply, but could request a variance to the zoning code for sign size. Governor said there would be a $300 fee associated with the variance request.

“The sign will also have internal works that meet the Emergency Management Agency requirements for emergency messaging,” Cartwright added.

Trustees also unanimously approved declaring the property at 4055 Fairway Drive as a nuisance property and ordered it to be cleaned up within seven days, or the township would handle the cleanup and place a lien on the property for the cost.

jtwhitehouse@vindy.com