LEWIS CENTER — Michael Ringle was named to the Orange Township Board of Trustees last week.
Orange Township’s website provided this brief biography of Ringle:
“He currently serves as an attorney within Bricker Graydon LLP’s public finance team. Ringle received his undergraduate and law degrees from The Ohio State University and is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of Ohio. Michael is the Vice President of the Board of the Big Walnut Area Chamber of Commerce and is active in the Delaware Rotary Club, the Ohio Society of CPAs, the Ohio Government Finance Officers Association and in the Ohio State Bar Association. Ringle is an Eagle Scout and continues his conservation efforts as Board Treasurer for the Delaware County Preservation Parks Foundation. He and his family are members of the Church of Christ on Fishinger Road.”
Ringle replaces Ben Grumbles as the third township trustee. Erica Fouss serves as chair of the board, and Lisa Knapp is the vice chair.
In recent meetings, the board took a number of actions, highlighted by:
• On March 1, the trustees approved an Orange Township Hall Park Pond and wetland project quote of $129,945 with MK Hardesty LLC.
• On April 5, Pamela Foster was appointed to the Zoning Commission; a “Special Assessment Fund” was established; and job descriptions were updated for various employees.
The township website officers a general job description for elected officials.
“The township officials consist of four officials who are elected to four-year staggered terms,” said www.orangetwp.org. “One Trustee and the Fiscal Officer are elected in one odd-numbered year, and the two remaining Trustees are elected two years later… Like any organization or unit of government, township government is what the people make it. Your personal knowledge of the officials who administer your township government and of the problems they face will make them more valuable to you. Fortunately, getting to know more about your township is simple. Your Trustees and Fiscal Officer are your neighbors. You’ll find them eager to discuss your problems and ideas as they welcome your interest and encourage your questions.”
The trustees meet in the Township Hall, 1680 E. Orange Road, Lewis Center.
Earlier this month, Fouss was on hand when the township placed fire Boat 360 into service at Alum Creek Lake to reduce emergency response times. “The Murphy” is named after late Orange Township Firefighter Trevor Murphy, and his mother, Katherine, christened the vessel. The township’s Facebook page said Boat 360 “is a 24-foot landing craft, and will provide rescue and medical capabilities, as well as a 500 gallon per minute pump for firefighting operations.”
The Alum Creek Sailing Association, 3421 Lewis Center Road, Lewis Center, is allowing The Murphy to dock with them. Fouss thanked the association, Grumbles, Fire Chief Nathan McNeil, “and our boat committee for all their hard work to make this happen.”
In other township news, like the rest of Delaware County, Orange residents were recently asked to limit their outdoor watering by provider Del-Co Water.
Assistant Editor Gary Budzak covers the eastern half of Delaware County and surrounding areas. He may be reached at [email protected]