The Santiago Twp. board meeting met on Feb. 12. They pored over the police report, the regular agenda meeting, and community concerns. 

Police Report

The police report consisted of a comparison of police calls from the last three years. In 2022 there were 812 calls, in 2023 there were 855 calls, and in 2024 there were 1,075 calls. 

The serious criminal activity over the past month was three assaults and four thefts. The PD will be adding another dispatch center that will be able to assist in emergency situations if the first dispatch center is unresponsive. There were nine total retirements from the police force with the years of service ranging from 17-30 years. There was one K9 dog who retired as well and a new K9 in training. 

The police are also hoping to rejuvenate the Night to Unite event, which consists of 20 neighborhoods and is a great way to meet people in one’s community. They also participated in “shop with a cop” which consists of one youngster and one police officer on a budget. They travel to Walmart and the youngster is allowed to pick whatever they want as long as they stay on a budget, which is $125. 

Meeting Agenda

The regular agenda meeting included the road report, which was manageable this last month with only concerns on keeping the brush down and plowing out the cul-de-sac’s. Zoning included a CUP for the heating contractor which got approved. Fire rescue had only 25 calls in January with those either being medical or fire calls. The Lions club is contemplating a swing set for the park; however, they want to make sure there are no restrictions as long as they don’t shine it towards the road. There was public concern over the legacy vets and whether they should be allowed to stay in the community. There have been complaints about the noise level at the park along with people parking along the road.