CANFIELD Trustees lose waterline suit

A local developer isn't sure if the ruling has any effect on the waterline project.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- A visiting judge has ruled that Canfield Township trustees violated the Ohio Constitution when they tried to install a waterline on Gibson Road.
Judge Mary Cacioppo issued a ruling Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas court stating that the waterline project violates a portion of the state constitution. Judge Cacioppo also ruled that a similar installation of a sewer line on the road would violate that section.
Article 8, Section 6 prohibits public officials from lending money to a private corporation.
Cacioppo's ruling prohibits the trustees from spending township money on water and sewer line projects on the road.
Lawsuit response: The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed in May 2000 by a group of local residents called Citizens Wanting Only Responsible Development. Members include families from 22 of the 27 homes on Gibson Road.
The group alleged that trustees entered an agreement with T.C. Quality Homes of Canfield regarding the waterline. T.C. Quality Homes is constructing a 140-unit development at the west end of Gibson Road.
Citizens WORD alleged that under the agreement, T.C. Quality Homes wouldn't seek to annex the development to the city of Canfield provided that Gibson Road was improved.
Ronald Knickerbocker, attorney for Citizens WORD, said his clients were elated by the ruling.
Disappointed: Trustees Paul Moracco and William Weaver expressed disappointment Thursday. They added that they had hoped the waterline project would discourage developers on Gibson Road from seeking annexation.
Weaver said that Canfield City Manager Charles Tieche would give T.C. Quality Homes water "in a heartbeat."
Chris Abraham, vice president of T.C. Quality Homes, said his company had not made a decision on annexing the development. He added he wasn't sure Judge Cacioppo's ruling prevented the trustees from installing the waterline.
Abraham cited a section of the ruling that prohibits the trustees from "expending any taxpayer dollars, and from, either directly or indirectly, implementing the resolution passed March 31, 2000." That was the day trustees first approved the project.
The trustees later rescinded the March 2000 resolution and approved a new resolution that gave Gibson Road residents less time to repay the township for the project. The new resolution was approved this May.
"We don't see how it changes anything," Abraham said of the judge's ruling.
No legal agreements: Weaver stressed that the trustees had no legal agreements regarding annexation with T.C. Quality Homes. He added that he thinks the project also would benefit the residents of the road.
In May, Moracco and Weaver voted to install the waterline on the road. The road also would be widened to 20 feet under the improvement project. The project called for the township to spend $250,000 on the improvements. Gibson Road residents would repay the township through tap-in fees over six years. The rest of the money for the $525,000 project would come from state grants.
Trustee Judy Bayus voted against the resolution. She had voted in favor of the resolution that was passed in March 2000.
hill@vindy.com