What's in store for 2024 in Nimishillen Township? Yard waste changes, mausoleum demolition

Editor’s note: The Canton Repository asked leaders in each of Stark County’s 17 townships, 11 villages and six cities to share some highlights about what's in store for 2024 in their communities.

The responses include the return of some family-friendly events, a variety of new businesses and some much-needed improvements to longstanding structures. We will be presenting these community highlights to you throughout the upcoming months.

NIMISHILLEN TWP. – A new fire chief, changes to the yard waste site and the demolition of the Union Cemetery mausoleum are some of the changes coming to Nimishillen Township this year.

Here is what’s in store for 2024 in the township of roughly 9,300 residents:

New fire chief to succeed Rich Peterson

For the first time in three decades, the Nimishillen Township Fire Department will have a new chief.

Rich Peterson, who was named fire chief in 1992 at the age of 25, retired Monday after 40 years with the department.

Peterson said his full-time job as a fire suppression specialist for Marathon Petroleum has become more time-consuming as he is responsible for visiting Marathon’s sites and facilities coast to coast as well as training firefighters across the country. He also believes the fire department, now with 35 part-time and full-time firefighters and dispatchers, is ready for its next chapter under new leadership.

“I think it’s time to let someone else come in,” he said. “I think I’m handing it off in good shape. I would rather do it now than drag it out.”

When Peterson began in 1984, the department was an all-volunteer crew. As chief, he transitioned the agency to part-time staffing in 1997 (the first in Stark County to do so) and then to full-time staffing in 2018.

He also established the township’s CenCom Dispatch Center, helped modernize the department with new equipment and upgraded employee training and oversaw the construction of Station 1 on Broadway Avenue, the remodeling of Station 2 on Maplegrove and the construction of Station 3 on Columbus Road.

Reflecting on his years as chief, Peterson said he’s the proudest of the people he’s worked with and watching how they’ve developed in their careers.

Trustees have appointed Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Tesch as interim fire chief until Peterson’s successor is chosen. Tesch, who also works as a full-time Canton City firefighter, was named Nimishillen’s assistant fire chief in 1992.

On Friday, they promoted Andrea Walters to director of the CenCom Dispatch Center. (Information was corrected at 12:30 p.m. March 12 to fix an error. See correction below.)

More new leaders taking office

Assistant Road Superintendent Lee Gonzalez, who has been with the township road department for roughly seven years, has been promoted to road superintendent. He succeeds Jamie May who retired after 25 years. Gonzalez previously served as the road superintendent for Osnaburg Township.

Sandy Smith, currently the township’s office manager, will become the township’s fiscal officer beginning April 1. Smith, a resident for roughly 35 years and who has 10 years’ experience working in township fiscal offices, was elected in November to a four-year term.

Mark Thomas is now in his third month as a new trustee after winning a highly contested race during the November election. Thomas, a former world champion professional drag racer, is a lifelong resident who operates a grain farm that has been family-owned since 1958. His term ends Dec. 31, 2027.

Changes to the yard waste coming this spring

When the yard waste center at 4915 N. Nickel Plate St. reopens on April 1, it will be available only to Nimishillen Township and Louisville city residents.

Residents will need a keycard to access the site. The keycards, which are $25 each and must be renewed each year, can be requested online or purchased in person from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the Nimishillen Township office at 4915 N. Nickel Plate St. The cards also can be purchased in person from 9 a.m. to noon on March 16 and March 30 at Louisville’s Constitution Center at 1022 W Main St.

Proof of residency, such as a driver’s license or utility bill, is required. Residents also must agree to abide by the site’s rules and its terms and conditions that can be found at www.nimishillentownship.com/yard-waste.

The revenue generated by the $25 fee will be used for the equipment and maintenance of the yard waste site, according to officials. The Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District has been phasing out its funding for yard waste sites.

The yard waste site will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Union Cemetery mausoleum to be demolished

Trustees are working with Louisville officials to address the dilapidated mausoleum at Union Cemetery at Louisville Street and Meese Road NE.

The century-old mausoleum in the northernmost section of the cemetery is home to crypts containing the remains of up to 62 people who died so long ago that their final resting place is no longer tended.

Mausoleum history: No one cares for the dead in Union Cemetery's mausoleum

Officials plan to remove the remains, some of which belong to former Louisville residents, and rebury them in the cemetery. The mausoleum would then be demolished.

Louisville has agreed to fund half of the estimated $75,000 project. Trustee George Kiko expects the project to begin within the next two months.

Previous attempts by trustees to fix the building were stopped by county prosecutors who determined that trustees could not spend public tax dollars to maintain a privately owned mausoleum. Trustees have been unable to determine who owns the mausoleum, which was established in 1889.

Local history featured online

The Louisville-Nimishillen Historical Society has obtained a new archival system where it can now share its museum artifacts on its website at lsvlnimhistsoc.org/ under “Museum Archive.”So far, the site features 60 items ranging from art to business merchandise, to church artifacts to clothing and furniture to information about notable residents and organizations.

The group hopes to eventually feature many of its collections online and is seeking volunteers to help with the process. To help, volunteers can stop in between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturdays at the museum at 128 E. Main St. in Louisville.

Parks Avenue and Fairhope Ditch projects seeking state help

Township officials are seeking state grants to chip and seal Parks Avenue and to address Fairhope Ditch.

Road Superintendent Gonzalez said Nimishillen is partnering with Osnaburg and Paris townships to seek an Ohio Public Works Grant for the Parks Avenue project.

Kiko said trustees are seeking state funds to help slow the water flow and to address catch basins along the Fairhope Ditch, a tributary of the East Branch of Nimishillen Creek.

Reach Canton Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

Correction: Nimishillen Township trustees on Friday promoted Andrea Walters to director of the CenCom Dispatch Center. Walters' first name was incorrect when the story was first published. The township provided incorrect information.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Nimishillen Township to privatize yard waste site, demolish mausoleum