Lake Twp. : Pay raises of 3 % approved

The Lake Township trustees Tuesday approved pay raises of 3 percent for non-union employees that will go into effect in January.
The positions affected by the raises include: police chief, fire chief, assistant fire chief, Emergency Medical Service coordinator, police administrative assistant, fiscal officer assistant, administrative secretary, zoning inspector, permanent part-time employees, part-time EMS employees, and volunteer firefighters.
Non-union full-time employees will see their share of insurance contributions for 2020 increase from 15 percent to 17.5 percent.
The trustees met in executive session for about 40 minutes to discuss the raises before re-convening their meeting and approving the pay raises.
In other business, trustee Ken Gilsdorf reported he plans to meet with the mayors of Walbridge and Millbury and Neil Munger, director of the Wood County Park District, to discuss the development of a stretch of the North Coast Inter-coastal Bike Trail in the township.
He said the park district has received a grant that could be used for the trail.
Gilsdorf also reported he’s contacted State Representative Haraz Ghanbari about having a sign placed along State Rt. 795 to honor veterans of the armed services from the township.
A suggestion for the sign to read: “Lake Township Veterans Memorial Highway” was floated at Tuesday’s meeting.
Gilsdorf said Rep. Ghanbari told him he’s received similar requests from other communities and may include them in a bill by this summer.
A township resident, Rich Henzler, last month asked that a sign be posted along Rt. 795 recognizing the men and women from the township who’ve served in the armed forces.
Henzler said there are more than 2,000 veterans buried at Lake Township Cemetery and the names of many veterans are listed on a wall at Lake High School.
The trustees held a moment of silence at the start of Tuesday’s meeting in memory of Elsa Caudill, a member of the Lake Township Firebelles and a founder of a food pantry operated by the Firebelles.
She also was an organizer of the Feed Our Neighbor Christmas basket program.