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Portage County township no longer just agricultural
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: June 13, 2013
Established in 1808, Freedom was the last township in Portage County to be organized, and while it was once purely agricultural today it serves as more of a bedroom community to close to 3,000 residents that work in places like Cleveland, Warren, Lordstown and Akron.
“The township started changing in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” said John Zizka, vice chairman of the board of trustees.
“As farming diminished some acreage was lotted off for home sites. People moved to the township for the rural atmosphere,” said Zizka.
“Agriculture is still allowed in any of our zoning districts.”
There are sections of the township, however, that are devoted to commercial and industrial businesses. Zizka said the northeast portion contains an industrial building and is home to Catacel Corporation, which designs and manufactures catalytic converters.
A mixed-use commercial section is located at the north end of the township along State Route 88 and includes Solid Rock Auto Group, JC Electric and CNC Precision Machine.
There are also three trucking companies on 88––Rick Kuntz Trucking, Northeast Ohio Oil Field Service and Freedom Truck and Trailor.
Dan’s Automotive is located on Nichols Road in a commercial district that runs along State Route 303 between the two segments of 88.
Trustee Chairman Roy Martin said Bonner Farms is the largest employer right now followed by Rick Kuntz Trucking.
Zizka said shopping and retail is limited and is made up of two taverns, the Freedom Inn and Time Out Sports Bar & Grill as well as two beverage drive-thru businesses, one of which is connected to the sports bar.
“The Detour Drive Thru recently opened a delicatessen called the D Store,” said Zizka.
“Residents do most of their shopping in Garrettsville and Ravenna, which both have two grocery stores. Ravenna also has a Marc’s,” said Zizka.
Officials said construction on a Dollar General is expected to begin soon.
“It is the most significant investment by a company in recent years, at least in terms of retail,” said Zizka.
He said about two months ago, S & K Sales & Service, which features outdoor equipment like lawn mowers and small tractors moved to Garrettsville after outgrowing its location on State Route 88.
“They still own the property and I’m not sure what they plan to do with it,” said Zizka.
Freedom Township also discussed the possibility of forming a joint economic development district with Garrettsville, but Zizka said the negotiations have been discontinued.
The township cannot collect income tax and relies primarily on real estate and Local Government Funds from the state, which Zizka said have been cut by about 25 percent in the last two years.
“We are still financially sound,” said Martin. “We made it through the recession without layoffs or service cuts.”
There were a number of foreclosures and Zizka said two condemned properties are slated to be demolished using Moving Ohio Forward grant money.
“We apply for State Issue 1 funding to help pay for the cost of paving our roads,” said Zizka. “This year we were awarded nothing.”
Zizka said the Portage County Sheriff’s Office handles police protection for Freedom, and the township is part of a joint fire district (Garrettsville – Freedom - Nelson). Emergency medical services are provided through the Community EMS district.
“We have EMS and fire services levies that cover most of the costs,” said Zizka.
The township maintains two parks, one is located in front of the town hall and the larger Freedom Community Park is on Route 700.
The smaller park has two ball fields and a pavilion; the other one has a pavilion, a large ball field and a playground for small children.
“We would like to add water and electric to Freedom Community Park,” said Zizka. “We are also talking about putting in a walking trail. We received about $16,000 in a state NatureWorks grant and we are seeking quotes.”
There is a community center in the former Freedom Methodist Church, Zizka said. “It is available for rent as is our town hall.
“The triangle where the town hall sits used to be the site of the Freedom School, but it fell into disrepair and was torn down. The First Congregational Church of Freedom in the triangle is on National Register of Historic Places.”
There are no longer any schools in the township, which is part of the James A. Garfield Local School District. “The district has repeatedly been rated as excellent with distinction,” said Zizka.
About 18 months ago, Zizka said the first horizontal well was drilled in Freedom.
“The infrastructure is not there to support production as yet. Once more pipelines are built more wells will likely be drilled. Over the years, a number of small Clinton wells have been drilled.
“The board of trustees has taken a neutral position on fracking; we are not encouraging or discouraging it. Portage County has one of the largest number of injection wells in the entire state, some near Freedom, which I think overall is a bigger concern,” said Zizka.
“Our biggest challenge right now,” said Martin, “is finding a way to continue to improve our roads as the state continues to cut its budget and grants become harder to get.”
Martin said growing more businesses is not the number one priority at the moment.
“We are more of a rural community,” said Martin. “Many of us, including myself, live on farms and do some type of farming. If a store is interested in opening here, we welcome it, but it is not our focus.”