CANFIELD TWP. Trustees to discuss waterline ruling

A visiting judge ruled that plans for Gibson Road violated the Ohio Constitution.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Canfield Township trustees will have a meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday to discuss how a recent ruling by a visiting judge will affect development plans for the township.
Mark Finamore, the township's attorney, said trustees will try to decide if the ruling requires them to forfeit $275,000 in state funding earmarked for a Gibson Road project. The trustees want to discuss how plans to widen the road are affected by the ruling.
Other areas: In addition, Finamore said the trustees will talk about how the ruling could affect plans to install sewer lines and waterlines in other parts of the township.
Judge Mary Cacioppo ruled Oct. 10 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court a plan to install a waterline on Gibson Road violates a portion of the state constitution. She also ruled that installation of a sewer line on the road would similarly violate that section.
Her ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed in May 2000 by a group of residents contending that trustees entered an agreement with T.C. Quality Homes to build the waterline. The Canfield company is constructing a 140-unit development at the west end of Gibson.
Under the agreement, the township would install the waterline and widen the road to 20 feet for the private development at a cost of $250,000.
Tap-in fees: Gibson Road residents who hook up to the waterline would repay the township through waterline tap-in fees over six years. The rest of the money for the $525,000 project would come from state grants.
But the Ohio Constitution prohibits public officials from lending money to a private corporation.
"We don't know if it's an absolute prohibition," Finamore said, adding that the trustees will spend part of Wednesday's meeting in an executive session discussing legal matters.
The time and date for the special meeting were set Monday night during a regular meeting of the trustees.
Trustees Paul Moracco and William Weaver have said they hoped the project would discourage developers from annexing property at the end of Gibson Road to the city of Canfield.
Road matters: On Monday, the trustees also approved the purchase of a video camera for the township. Gary Cook, road department supervisor, said he wanted to use the camera to film sections of Gibson Road that are in need of repair. Cook added that he wasn't sure how Cacioppo's ruling affects maintenance plans for the road.
The trustees voted Monday to buy 1,500 tons of road salt from International Salt Co. at a cost of $45.32 per ton. Cook said that in the past, the township has paid around $31 a ton. Several factors have helped drive up prices, he said.
hill@vindy.com