Brookfield trustees recently again put out a call for volunteer drivers of the Senior Citizens Van, but they currently don’t have a van to drive.
“From what I understand, the transmission went out,” Trustee Ron Haun said.
The trustees are waiting for an estimate on what it would cost to fix the Dodge Caravan.
At least for next Tuesday, Nov. 20, when Phil Schmidt is scheduled to drive again, he will be able to use the code enforcement officer’s car, a much smaller vehicle.
The trustees said Nov. 5 that only three drivers went out in October, and Schmidt accounted for 42¾ of the 48¼ hours driven for the month.
“That’s a lot of hours for Phil,” said Trustee Dan Suttles. “Really appreciate it.”
Suttles noted Schmidt will be taking a break from driving the van over the winter.
“We need volunteer drivers,” Suttles said. “If you find that you have nothing to do, can give us a little time. We would appreciate it. We have a lot of seniors that depend on this and, lately, we’ve had to tell them ‘I’m sorry, we can’t take you to wherever you need to go.’”
Drivers must pass a background check, but the township reimburses them for the cost. Call Tabatha Dickson at 330-448-4500 or any of the trustees for information.
Haun said he wants to try to get the existing volunteer organizations involved to see if they have ideas to attract more drivers.
“It’s important to our seniors,” Haun said. “As you are all well aware, the senior population in our township is only going to be increasing. It’s not going to be decreasing. This service is even going to be more important 10 years from now than it is now.”