GOSHEN TOWNSHIP – The board of trustees approved the township’s annual road salt purchase in its April meeting Tuesday.

The trustees voted unanimously to approve a resolution to participate in the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) road salt contract for 2026 and to order 275 tons of salt.

Municipalities participating in the annual salt contracts order salt a year in advance, before they know the prices, and are then able to take up to 15% more or less than the figure they initially ordered based on its needs. This means the township will be required to purchase a minimum of 234 tons and can purchase up to 316 tons of salt at the contract price in accordance with weather conditions.

Road Foreman Adam Corll said that the township currently has approximately 50 tons of salt remaining following this year’s severe winter weather conditions.

In addition to purchasing salt, the trustees also discussed salt storage.

Fiscal Officer Michele Barratt told the board that she had been contacted by Jackson Township’s Fiscal Officer Judy Patton about the possibility of Goshen’s road department storing road salt for Jackson Township.

“[Jackson Township] used to have ODOT store the salt for them, for their roads. They have less than five miles of roads, and they are no longer doing that. They were just seeing what options were available. She doesn’t know that they would want to do this, but wanted to know if it would be a possibility,” said Barratt.

Trustee Chair Shawn Mesler said that with the township already storing Berlin Township’s road salt in addition to its own, that the trustees needed to consider potential staffing complications that storing salt for a third municipality could cause.

“We’re already doing this for Berlin [Township]. We don’t want to get to the capacity where we can’t house our own salt or make sure we have our own salt. I’m not saying a hard yes or no,” said Mesler. “One concern, the trouble we’ve had doing this for the other township, is sometimes they want salt loaded when we’re out plowing roads or maybe we’re not out at all and we can’t be coming in special to load for another township because it would be a burden on our ability to clean our own roads.”

Corll said he was personally against the possibility, and that it would also require the township to potentially alter its salt order to accommodate the space required to store an additional township’s salt.

The trustees ultimately agreed that it would be best to decline at that time. Barratt said she would inform Patton.

The trustees also heard comments from several residents about ongoing issues with a residence at the corner of Third and Floral streets. They said that there has been a growing “pile of junk” spilling onto adjacent properties, and that the resident consistently revs the engine of a vehicle in the evening, disturbing both nearby residents and livestock. They also said that they had been hesitant to contact police about the issues thus far because they are afraid the property owner will retaliate against them.

Police Chief John Calko asked them to call the police while the issues are occurring so that they can respond to track the noise level and speak with the property owner. He also stressed that officers would not identify who made the report and could state that concerns had been reported by several people.

Mesler also said that he had attended Mahoning County Public Health Advisory Board’s meeting and they had highlighted the potential danger of ticks to residents as temperatures rise. He said that there were three documented cases of the particularly dangerous Lone Star Tick, whose bite can transmit several dangerous illnesses, found in Mahoning County last year and that residents should remember to check for ticks after spending time outdoors.

The board of trustees will meet next at 6 p.m. on May 12.

mahart@mojonews.com