SUGARCREEK TOWNSHIP — Voters will choose a Sugarcreek Township trustee to fill the final year of an unexpired term on the board.

After longtime trustee Michael Pittman died in January, the board appointed Fred Cramer — per Pittman’s suggestion — to serve a portion of the remainder of his term through Dec. 31 of this year. Ohio Revised Code requires the final year of Pittman’s unexpired term to be placed on the ballot. The term expires Dec. 31, 2021.

Cramer has a challenger in the election — former trustee Marvin Moeller.

Cramer grew up in Greene County, graduated from Beavercreek High School and then Wright State University with a degree in quantitative business analysis. He’s been a resident of Sugarcreek Township with his wife, Jeannie, for 20 years.

Prior to Cramer’s appointment to the board of trustees, he served on the Sugarcreek Township Board of Zoning appeals for 12 years. After leaving IBM, Cramer started Guide Technologies, a reseller of business software for manufacturing companies. As president, he grew Guide Technologies to become Infor’s largest reseller and partner of the year.

In a candidate questionnaire, Cramer said he thinks he’s right for the job because he’s already begun acting upon his vision for the township.

“My vision is to make Sugarcreek Township the most desirable township to live in in southwestern Ohio,” he said. “This includes bringing more services and businesses while preserving the green spaces in the township without additional taxes to our residents. Annexation is always an issue and in the township, we have put barriers to discourage cities from trying to annex our township.”

Cramer also noted the importance of fiscal responsibility, stating that the township has never been in a better fiscal position than now. The police department is able to hire and maintain key personnel, he said, also commending the fire department and road crews.

The incumbent said the most important issue facing the township is economic development — an issue on which he said he’s made headway already.

“I am involved with bringing new businesses to the Wilmington Pike corridor, where it has been zoned for business, while preserving the green spaces in the rest of the township,” he said. “One company has already agreed to purchase approximately 3.1 acres and move their business to Sugarcreek Township. We have multiple other deals in the works including a local restaurant wants to open a location in our township.”

Cramer said he’ll continue building relationships with Beavercreek, Bellbrook, and Kettering in order to connect the township with nearby communities.

Moeller, a lifelong Sugarcreek Township resident, has served the township for 47 years as a firefighter/paramedic, the first fire prevention officer, and the first fire chief after the separation from Bellbrook. He recently retired from the fire service and farming after 50 years.

The role isn’t new to Moeller, either; he served as a trustee in the past. While trustee, he was president of the the Greene County Clerk and Trustee Association as well as the Miami Valley Emergency Management Association, served on the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission and worked on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan for the township.

This combined experience, he said, has allowed him to truly know the township and its residents.

“I know the needs to move our township forward. By being honored to serve on many boards I have personal contacts with many of our county and state elected officials, and with these contacts I am able to get things done,” Moeller said. “The present Board of Trustee[s] has failed us. I believe in an open government and will not allow the secrets and deceptions happening now to continue.”

With Moeller’s background in public safety — including a degree in public safety administration — he’ll continue improving fire and police services, he pledged.

The biggest issue he said he’ll tackle is stopping annexation of the township.

“We have lost land to the city of Centerville (corner of Wilmington Pike and Feedwire Road), Kettering (Swigart Road). and Bellbrook over the past years. This is tax dollars lost that the current residents have to pick up,” he said. “I will find ways with my experience and education to move our township into the future without raising our taxes and to stop annexation. I would work with state legislator [sic] to change the current annexation laws.”

Moeller said zoning regulations need to be enforced.

“We need to work with the land owners to encourage them not to annex their land to a city but to stay in the township,” he said. “We need to use the plans which were adopted to guide our township economic development into the future.”