Akron Ohio News - Longtime Granger trustee retiring from township service

Community News

Longtime Granger trustee retiring from township service

11/26/2009 - West Side Leader

By Kathleen Folkerth

William Riebau is concluding his third and final term as a Granger Township trustee.

Photo: Kathleen Folkerth

GRANGER — William Riebau is in the final weeks of his service as Granger Township trustee, but that doesn’t mean the longtime resident will be ending his service to the community.

“I’m already being bugged to be on one of the committees,” said Riebau, who is concluding his third term as a trustee. “I would like to have a breather for a year or so and see what happens.”

Prior to becoming a trustee, Riebau served as the township’s zoning inspector for almost 10 years. With his 12 years as a trustee, he’s served the community for about 22 years.

Riebau, who turned 66 last week, said he didn’t run for re-election this fall because he felt it was time to step down.

“I’m retirement age now,” he said.

He has been a resident of Medina County since his family moved from Cleveland when he was 8, he said. He graduated from Medina High School. In 1966, he and his wife, Irene, bought a house in Granger and have lived there ever since. They have three children, sons Brett and Bruce, both residents of Cuyahoga Falls, and daughter Denise, of Kansas City.

Over the years, Riebau worked in a sheet metal shop and also drove a truck for Medina Supply. He also worked for the Cleveland Metroparks, his current employer, on general maintenance and at the Cleveland Zoo.

He got involved in serving Granger in 1987 when his wife, who was the secretary for the Board of Zoning Appeals and Zoning Commission, suggested it.

“They needed somebody [to be zoning inspector] and she said, ‘You’d be good at that,’” he said.

So Riebau took on the part-time position and saw Granger through much of its growth.

He recalls that it wasn’t uncommon for the township to see 50 new homes built in a year from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.

“It’s really slowed down now,” he said, which he attributes mostly to the economy.

Riebau said he decided to run for Granger trustee because there were some projects in the township that interested him, such as the building of the township’s administration building.

“So I gave it a shot,” he said.

That building was completed in 2000 and was followed by the fire station in 2004.

His time as zoning inspector certainly helped prepare him for the job of a trustee, he said, but there was still a learning curve.

“There’s things that pop up that you just don’t anticipate,” he said. “It’s like life. You have good days and you have bad days.”

He and his fellow trustees, Teri Berry and John Ginley, have worked together well, Riebau added. A resident recently asked him if they ever disagree or have conflicts.

“We don’t,” Riebau said. “It’s always been that way. We get along well and listen to each other’s ideas and come up with a solution.”

Riebau said he plans to continue working for the Cleveland Metroparks until April and then will likely retire. He and his wife considered a move to a warmer climate but ultimately decided against it.

“We had considered moving south to get away from the lake effect snow, but I think that’s not going to happen,” he said. “We like it here.”

Richard Pace won Riebau’s trustee seat in the Nov. 3 General Election. He will begin serving in January.

“He’s going to do very well,” Riebau said of Pace. “He impressed me the first time I met him.”

Riebau added he’s grateful he’s had the chance to serve his community.

“I want to say thanks to everyone that’s helped me along the way,” he said.

More Community News

Calendar of Events

...More Events