LIBERTY — With January’s winter scares nearly in the rearview mirror, trustees and residents heard from department heads about how they fared.

At its regular meeting this week, fire Chief Doug Theobald thanked Trustee Greg Cizmar for his assistance to control flooding rain ahead of the 12 inches of snow that followed, explaining that Station 34 had water coming into it.

Theobald said the 16 to 18 inches of snow made travel and response “very difficult” for EMS personnel, adding that firefighters chained up both ambulances and a pumper fire truck for a day to make the roads more accessible.

“Kudos to (Road Superintendent) Wayne (Hickman) and his crew for keeping our aprons and our roads clear,” Theobald said. “He was on standby if we had difficulty getting down the side street — they would run a truck down to get us closer to the calls.

Theobald said the department’s call volume — outside of the storm’s short window — was limited, and fire officials were grateful, but it picked up after the snow’s conclusion.

“(We’re) seeing such a huge volume of accidents; we’re getting a lot of water breaks,” Theobald said. “With that, we’re having a lot of welfare checks because people are just still not able to get out and about.”

Theobald said the department’s continued streak of more than 300 responses per month persists because of occurrences like that.

PARK PROJECT

Hickman, building on Theobald’s report, recognized the road department’s five employees for their efforts, adding that keeping the roads clear day and night has been their primary challenge.

He also gave an update on the Center Park project, for which the township received a $450,000 American Rescue Plan grant.

The money will be used to improve the sports and recreation area, the walking path and pavilions, according to trustee Arnie Clebone.

Hickman said the project kicked off Monday, with tree clearing at the park’s west property line to establish its first ditch.