Your Money at Work
By Mike Little, Fire Chief
In May 2014, the Violet Township Fire Department requested your support for a 3.8-mill tax levy. This levy passed with just over 60 percent in favor.
The levy provides an additional $3.7 million of funding per year to the department. The passage of this levy has allowed the department to fund a number of needs. At the time of the request, some of the needs included:
- Replace Station 591 on Lockville Road in Olde Pickerington Village
- Make improvements to current Station 592 on Refugee Road
- Enhance our current operations and service delivery
- Improve staffing models and increase staffing as needed
- Develop and implement a Community Paramedic Program
- Replace aging vehicles and apparatus
The levy began collecting in 2015. At this point, we have realized three years of increased funding. Due to the support of our community, we have funded many of the needs listed above and more.
Items completed to date include:
- Planning the replacement for Station 591 began in 2015 and construction began in 2016. Completion is slated for February 2018.
- Adding a generator at Station 593 located on Taylor Park Drive.
- Beginning planning, in 2018, for the improvements needed at Station 592, located on Refugee Road. This includes a new roof, new HVAC system, additional garage space for staff vehicles and a kitchen remodel. Station 592 is 21 years old and renovations should begin in 2019.
- Adding a Community Paramedic Program. Lt. J.D. Postage is our Community Paramedic. He conducted nearly 800 visits in the Violet Township area in 2017 alone.
- Since the passage of the levy, we have added seven (7) firefighters to our staff. This has not only increased our staffing, but has allowed us to improve our staffing model for each station.
- We have rejuvenated our fleet by:
- Cmpleting a re-chassis of Engine 593, extending its life another 15 years
- Replacing Engine 592 and Rescue 592
- Replacing Statin Truck 592, two Medic vehicles and the Battalion Chief vehicle
- Adding anther Prevention vehicle and a Community Medic vehicle
- In the prcess of replacing a third Medic vehicle
As you can see, your support has allowed the Department to make the necessary purchases and changes to continue moving forward. The plan is to continue utilizing our funds in the most judicious manner to meet the needs of our growing community. Since 2013, our run volume has increased 13.5 percent, and we exceeded 6,000 runs in 2017.
As the Fire Chief and on behalf of the Department’s members, I sincerely appreciate your continued support. As always, if you have questions, please contact us at 614-837-4123.
Responsible Residential Lawn Care
The four R’s of fertilizer application
By Tommy Springer, Wildlife and Education Specialist, Fairfield SWCD
It may be the middle of winter, and maintaining your grass may be the last thing on your mind, but spring will be here before we know it, and so, too, will be all the lawn care that comes with it.
Between the mowing, fertilizing and chemical treatments that happen around many residential landscapes, there are several best management practices that should be observed to minimize the impact your activities have on the environment.
Following the 4 R’s principle of fertilizer application is a great place to start. The 4 R’s are represented by: Right Source, Right Rate, Right Time and Right Place. This framework can be applied regardless of property size, from a small subdivision lot to a hundred-acre agricultural field, and provides an excellent guideline for both homeowners and lawn care professionals. Knowing the 4 R’s is only the start; understanding and implementing them is what actually makes a difference.
Right Source
Most commercial fertilizers consist of three main nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, also known by their periodic table abbreviations, N, P and K. The three nutrients are always listed in the same order: N, P, K. The large numbers on a bag of fertilizer represent the percentage of each nutrient contained within the mix. A 16-2-8 label would indicate a mixture containing 16 percent nitrogen, 2 percent phosphorous and so on. If a certain nutrient is not part of the fertilizer mixture, it is still listed and represented by a “0.” Following the Right Source principle means applying only the nutrients your lawn is lacking. Because of the variability in lawn types requiring different levels of nutrition and differences in available soil nutrients, proper identification of the treatment area and having your soil tested to determine what nutrients are currently available is an important first step.
Right Rate
Once you’ve established fertilizer needs, this principle guides you to use only the minimal amount needed to accomplish your targeted goal. Many fertilizer bags are labeled to treat a specific surface area, commonly 5,000-16,000 square feet, but remember, this is an average and may differ considerably from what your lawn requires. Applying too much fertilizer is wasteful and can negatively impact the very plants you’re trying to help. It is important to determine the actual size of the treatment area, then use your soil test results and targeted lawn types to determine the proper rate of application.
Right Time
This principle can sometimes be the most subjective and difficult to accurately incorporate into your fertilizer application best management practices. Depending on the type of fertilizer, it’s important to know what time of year and during which stage of the growing season it needs to be applied. This can vary from year to year as seasonal rainfall and soil temperature fluctuations have great impacts on the efficacy of supplemental fertilization. A simple rule of thumb: Fertilize lawns during the growing season when there is active growth.
Considering an even smaller time scale, remember to avoid applying fertilizer immediately prior to a substantial rain event. Heavy rains within a short period may potentially carry nutrients away through runoff, and can lead to environmental impacts and loss of positive results to your lawn. Growing season, forecasted weather and seasonal climatic conditions should all be factored in when determining the proper time to apply your fertilizer.
Right Place
With all the other principles covered, this last one is a little more straightforward. Fertilizer is only effective if it reaches the target, and is most harmful to the environment when it doesn’t land where it is intended. Avoid applying fertilizer to impervious surfaces such as sidewalks, driveways and roads, where stormwater can carry it off target. If some does end up in these areas, you can sweep or blow it back into the treatment area. When fertilizing near bodies of water such as ponds or streams, use a deflector shield on the spreader and stay a reasonable distance away from the edge of the water. A 3-foot buffer is the standard set-back from bodies of water.
Understanding and implementing these practices will help maximize the positive results of fertilizer application, improve stormwater quality, reduce harmful impacts to the environment, and help reach the goal of a healthy and vibrant landscape.
Save the Date
Saturday, April 14 at the Violet Township Office Building, 12970 Rustic Dr.
Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District and TruGreen will host a Residential Lawncare and Landscape Maintenance Workshop. Landowners are encouraged to bring soil test results for interpretation. For soil testing information and supplies, please contact either The Ohio State University – Extension in Lancaster, or CLC Labs in Westerville.
Local Road Research
Violet Township Engineer Greg Butcher serves as chairman of a statewide local road research board. Ohio’s Research Initiative for Locals (ORIL) is a program designed to provide practice-ready solutions to real-world issues facing Ohio’s local transportation system through research.
The state of Ohio has a total of 121,807,409 center-line miles. The local road system totals 102,336,982 miles, or 84 percent of the total statewide system.
ORIL is a multi-organizational collaborative effort to improve the transportation network in Ohio’s counties, townships, cities and villages. Ohio is one of only three states to have dedicated local road research programs.
The ORIL board is comprised of county, city and township engineers, as well as staff from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). All board members volunteer their time.
The board develops and oversees transportation research projects to meet the needs of local agencies for the safety and economic well-being of the traveling public and Ohio. Funding is provided by ODOT.
Examples of active and completed projects include:
- Analysis of Ground Tire Rubber in Asphalt Mix Design on Local Roadways in Ohio
- Best Practices for Chip Sealing Low-Volume Roads in Ohio
- Optimizing the Effective Use of Recycled Asphalt in Local Roadway Pavement Design
- Structural Benefits of Concrete Paving of Steel Culvert Inverts
- Use of Crushed Recycled Glass in the Construction of Local Roadways
- Storm Water Best Management Practices for Local Roadways
More information on the ORIL program can be found at oril.transportation.ohio.gov.
