HOWLAND — The township’s fire chief gave another update on the state of the department’s gear following its response to a June 29 plane crash, saying they’ll be looking to replace it soon.

In response to a question from resident Tony Morola during the public comment portion of Wednesday’s meeting, fire Chief Raymond Pace said the sets of gear involved in the crash were cleaned twice by Disaster Recovery Services, a local company.

“I can confirm that, in that company’s opinion, they (the sets) can no longer be utilized. The manufacturer will not essentially tell you that,” Pace said. “We reached out to our gear manufacturer and they said, ‘We’re not able to say that you’re not allowed to use the gear,’ because it would directly benefit them, and we’d obviously purchase more gear.”

Pace said fire officials were instructed to speak to a third-party group about it, and the department is looking to get the gear replaced through an OTARMA insurance claim.

“We tried to work with the aircraft insurance, but until liability has been accepted or determined by someone for what happened,” Pace said. Until the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) releases their report, we’ll have no movement.”

At July’s meeting, Pace said the structural firefighting gear involved in the crash was contaminated with jet fuel, and they attempted to launder it twice in their gear extractor at the fire station.

To replace all 15 sets — which includes a coat, pants, gloves, a hood and structural firefighting boots — the fire department would be looking at “just under” $78,000, Pace said.

In other action, the board:

• Accepted the retirement of police Chief Nick Roberts, effective Sept. 30, and then approved the re-employment of Roberts as police chief at his present salary, effective Oct. 1, under a retire-rehire agreement. All of Roberts’s unused sick leave, comp time and vacation time will carry over, and he will not lose any seniority.

• Approved declaring 1041 Westover Drive SE a nuisance.

• Approved a contract between the Howland Local School District’s Board of Education and trustees for a school resource officer, for a total cost of $74,190, for the time period of Sept. through May 28, 2026.

• Approved a contract between the Howland Local School District’s Board of Education and trustees for a school resource officer, for a total cost of $36,883, for the time period of Sept. 2 through May 28, 2026. Roberts said the second officer’s pay is for four-and-a-half months instead of nine like the other officer.

• Approved the township’s trick or treat for 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 30.

• Accepted the resignation of full-time paramedic and firefighter Timothy Grantz, effective Sept. 15.

• Accepted $3,330 from the Ohio Division of EMS’s 2025-26 P1-Training & Equipment Reimbursement Grant.

• Approved purchasing a Power Load Patient Cot from Stryker for $24,000. Pace said they were able to work with Stryker to find a demo cot, which allowed the township to save some money, considering a new cot cost $39,000.

• Approved hiring Steve Chirarppa as a full-time firefighter and paramedic, effective Oct. 2. He will be paid $23.89 an hour.