COPLEY TWP.: A new five-member board charged with oversight of new commercial, industrial and residential construction in Copley Township is scheduled to begin work in February.
To start, Architectural Review Board members will be appointed to one-year probationary terms, followed by two- or five-year staggered terms. The board also will include two nonvoting alternates.
Culled from a pool of applicants, board members have professional construction-related backgrounds — from planning and architecture to environmental design and masonry.
Review board terms officially began Jan. 1. The board’s first meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 4, the first Monday of the month, in Copley Town Hall. After that, the board will meet as needed.
The first order of business is expected to be appointment of a chair, who will consult with township planning staff in setting an agenda, and a vice chair. Three requests related to business signs are on the first meeting’s agenda.
Board members introduced themselves at a special, informal Monday board of trustees meeting.
‘‘It has long been needed,’’ Trustee Helen Humphrys, a longtime proponent, said of the review board. ‘‘Now we have actual professionals. It’s their field of expertise.’’
An outline of the board’s mission covers a broad range, including enhancing desirability of living and investing in Copley, encouraging ‘‘the attainment of the most desirable use of land and improvements’’ and promoting ‘‘visual environments which are of high aesthetic quality and variety and which, at the same time, are considerate of each other.’’
The five board members are: Christine M. Dersi, a senior planner with Cleveland-based D.B. Hartt Inc. and executive director of the Ohio Chapter of American Planning Associates; Kelly McPherson, an architect with Copley-based K.M. Design; Dwayne A. Groll, a civil engineer and environmental consultant with the Akron-based Environmental Design Group; Rich Nagy, a retired certified master brick and stone mason; and Ron Kovacs, a former regional manager for Massachusetts-based Dodge Engineering and Controls.
The two alternates are Joe Gregory, a forestry consultant for Kent-based Davey Expert Tree Co.; and Melanie Friedman, a principal owner of FMD Architects with offices in Fairlawn and in Asheville, N.C.
All seven reside in Copley.
‘‘You do get final approval on the issues [that come] before you,’’ Humphrys told the group.
Bruce Griffin can be reached at brucefgriffin@aol.com.