Hanover Township Trustees lower Morman Road speed limit, appoint new interim administrator

On Oct. 20, the Hanover Township Trustees approved Resolution 60-26, which will lower the speed limit on Morman Road between Stillwell Beckett Road and State Route 130, also known as Old Oxford Road, from 55 mph to 45. The rest of Morman Road, between State Route 130 and Millville Ave, is already subject to a 45 mph speed limit.

The resolution came after a resident, Lori Kelly, sent a letter to the township trustees requesting a speed study from the Butler County Engineer’s Office (BCEO) on Aug. 26. 

Kelly said that, since moving to Morman Road in 2007, she had noticed lots of high-speed semi-truck traffic that she felt was dangerous. She first addressed the trustees in February 2015, citing concerns over semi-truck traffic and the transportation of hazardous materials, according to meeting minutes. Since then, she said she has continued to press for speed limit reductions and restrictions on semi-truck through traffic on Morman Road. 

“I can’t live with myself if somebody gets hurt and killed because I didn’t do something,” Kelly said. 

Morman Road is not within the limits of any municipality; therefore, it defaults to a 55 mph speed limit, according to ORC 4511.21(5). Based on information in the state’s traffic engineering manual, “county and township roads require Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) approval for any speed limit changes, supported by an engineering study conducted by the local jurisdiction.” 

In an interview with the Oxford Free Press, Matt Loeffler, a traffic engineer at BCEO, said BCEO performed a speed study on Morman Road from Sept. 3-9. The initial recommended speed limit from the speed study was 50 mph, but BCEO recommended a further reduction to 45 mph due to the number of houses and driveways along the road. 

Now that the trustees have passed a resolution to lower the speed limit, the township is waiting for approval from ODOT and BCEO to place new 45 mph speed limit signs along the road. This will likely happen in the next two weeks, said Hanover Township interim administrator Mike Jackson. 

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office will be notified of the new speed limit, which will be enforceable after the speed limit signs have been posted and the township receives final approval from the county and state.

New trustee

The Oct. 20 meeting was also the first township trustee meeting for the newly appointed Jackson. 

Jackson previously worked for the township’s road department for six years before receiving a master’s in public administration with a government and policy emphasis from Grand Canyon University in 2024. Jackson had also been helping previous township administrator Bruce Henry with administrative work, so when Henry retired, the trustees asked him to step in. 

“I explained some of the projects I had been working on, and then I started to head up some grant projects … and that just turned into them coming to me and saying, ‘Hey, we want you to come in as the interim administrator,’” Jackson said. 

Jackson’s first official day as interim administrator was Oct. 5, and he will serve for 90 days, until Jan. 3, 2027, when a permanent township administrator will be appointed. 

“I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot in the three weeks I’ve been here,” said Jackson. “We’ve been finding areas that we can save money in … making the easy cuts so that if we need to make some harder cuts, maybe we’ve saved enough money to where we don’t need to make such a tough call.”

Applications for the position of township administrator will be accepted until Nov. 30. 

Anyone wishing to apply must have a bachelor’s degree and at least five to 10 years of management experience in local government or business. A full list of job requirements is available on the Hanover Township website.

Interested candidates may submit a resume and cover letter by email or to the Hanover Township Administration building.