A recent kitchen fire at Mills Park Hotel was quickly contained by Miami Township Fire-Rescue crews last week, according to Fire Chief James Cannell, who praised firefighters’ response as he reported to the Miami Township Trustees during their meeting Monday, May 18.

Miami Township Fire-Rescue was dispatched just before 7 a.m. Wednesday, May 13, to Ellie’s Restaurant at Mills Park Hotel after smoke was reported in the kitchen. Though business was briefly halted, Ellie’s was back in full swing the following day.

Cannell told trustees the fire — caused by a “large bowl of grease still burning in the kitchen” — occurred during an MTFR shift change, allowing the department to respond with additional personnel.

“We were able to get plenty of people out there and get to it very, very quick, and the crew did a fantastic job,” Cannell said, adding that responding personnel were able to keep smoke and fire damage “very, very minimal.”

Elsewhere in his report, Cannell said the department has temporarily dropped to two-person daytime staffing on some days due to a medical issue affecting a member of the crew, though MTFR’s community paramedic Steffinie Brewer has been helping fill staffing gaps. Trustees later approved the hiring of Madison Terry, a certified firefighter and EMT from the Columbus area, as a part-time firefighter/EMT.

During the meeting, trustees also discussed an upcoming transition to a new Township website and email system, set to go live June 1.

Trustee Lori Askeland said the Township is moving from its current “.net” domain to a “.gov” domain, a change she said is aimed at improving both cybersecurity and public trust.

“If you reach a .net or a .org website, you don’t know what that organization could be,” Askeland said, noting that government entities must complete an application process to receive a “.gov” web address.

Under the transition, current Township email addresses and the existing MiamiTownship.net website will continue to function for a limited period of time, though officials encouraged residents to update contact information once the new system launches.

The meeting’s longest and most contentious discussion came near its end, when trustees voted 2–1 to publicly discuss a previously confidential letter from Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes regarding the legality of reimbursing health insurance premiums for Trustee Chris Mucher.

As the News reported last month, trustees voted at their April 6 meeting to end the Township’s practice of reimbursing health insurance premiums for elected officials who opted out of the Township’s group health insurance plan. Mucher said at that meeting that he had accumulated several thousand dollars in healthcare premiums that would previously have been reimbursed by the Township; trustees agreed during the meeting to request that Prosecutor Hayes review the situation and identify any legal options for reimbursing Mucher.

Hayes delivered the requested advice to the trustees in a May 14 letter, obtained by the News via public records request. In the letter, Hayes pointed to ORC 505.601, writing that Ohio law allows townships to reimburse employees or officials for healthcare premiums “with no danger of a legal action” if the township “does not offer a healthcare plan to its employees.”

“Alternatively, the Township may continue to offer healthcare coverage to its employees, but may not offer premium reimbursement,” Hayes wrote.

Hayes went on to explain that Miami Township may elect to continue to pay premium reimbursement while also offering a group healthcare plan and adhere to state law if trustees approve a resolution to authorize reimbursement payments, but that doing so would “potentially violate provisions of the Affordable Care Act and subject the Township to penalties by the IRS.”

Hayes noted that his office found no cases of Ohio townships being penalized by the IRS for premium reimbursements, but that electing to approve such reimbursements “would involve balancing that risk,” and advised trustees to consult an attorney experienced in ACA and tax law before proceeding with any resolution approving reimbursements.

During discussion Monday, Mucher argued trustees should take Hayes’ advice to seek additional legal guidance and maintained that prior boards had used the reimbursement practice for years without issue.

“To this point I have been, for whatever reason, financially punished to the tune of $6,558,” Mucher said.

“It is unlawful to have both a group insurance plan and to be reimbursing people for insurance premiums outside that plan; the letter we got clearly stated that it’s either/or,” Moir said.

Askeland argued that trustees could not retroactively authorize a reimbursement benefit that had never been formally adopted through policy or resolution, and pointed to Hayes’ remark that authorizing both a group health plan and premium reimbursements via resolution would introduce the Township to potential IRS penalties.

“I do not support going to a tax attorney,” she said.

The discussion grew heated at times, with Mucher opining that Moir and Askeland were treating him unfairly, and Moir repeatedly rejecting those suggestions.

“Unfortunately, I see it as being personal, and I believe you’re really doing a disservice to the Board of Trustees, to me personally, and the fluid business of Miami Township at this level,” Mucher said. “I think you should be ashamed of yourselves.”

“I don’t care if you think I should be ashamed of myself,” Moir answered. “You’re asking me to break the law for you.”

Ultimately, Mucher moved that the board resolve to consult further with a tax attorney; the motion expired without a second.