AUSTINTOWN Residents, trustees debate home rule

One of the two Stanford Avenue caimans escaped from its home by falling out of a window.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Living next to two caimans is "like having a '57 Chevy next to your house," says Stanford Avenue resident Lenny Villers.
"It's just exciting," he added.
The township trustees, however, have a different opinion.
The trustees, at their meeting tonight, are expected to approve a limited form of self-government that will allow them to prohibit township residents from keeping exotic pets like caimans, which are related to crocodiles.
Expects ordinance: Trustee David Ditzler said he expects the trustees to discuss creating an exotic animal ordinance after the limited form of self-government, called home rule, is approved.
Exotic pets: Villers' neighbor, Carl Fisher, keeps two caimans as pets in a second-story room at his house. Villers said he doesn't think the trustees should be able to order them removed.
"I don't need anybody to tell me what I can do and what I can keep on the side of my house," he added.
Fisher did not answer a request for a comment.
Home rule gives trustees the authority to pass health, safety, and sanitation ordinances. It can be passed by a unanimous vote of the trustees or a majority vote of township residents.
Ditzler and trustees Richard Edwards and Bo Pritchard have said they favor home rule, which has failed each of the three times it has appeared on the ballot. Ditzler stressed that he believes home rule is an "additional tool" the trustees can use to address township issues like blight and exotic animals.
"It gives the township an avenue to [promptly address] the problems the residents bring to the township," he said.
Caiman escaped: Some township residents began calling for Fisher's caimans to be removed from his home in August, after one of the reptiles escaped by falling from a second-story window.
Stanford Avenue resident Robert Evans said he supports home rule, "because of stuff like this [the caimans]."
Brenda Henry, who also lives on Stanford Avenue, said she thinks home rule is needed to remove the reptiles.
"It seems the only route to go," she said. "I definitely think that something needs to be done."
Henry noted that she isn't worried about giving the trustees the power to pass ordinances that may not be in the best interest of township residents.
"We have to trust the people we elected," she said.
Other Stanford Avenue residents, like Villers and Ed Custer, expressed concerns about home rule, however. Custer said he thinks the trustees are using the caimans to reach their political goals.
"All they want is home rule. They're looking for an excuse to do it," he said.
Meanwhile, at least one township resident who does not live near the caimans has a mixed opinion of home rule. Burkey Road resident Fred Lombardo said he thinks the trustees have the power to address township issues without approving home rule.
He added, however, "If they impose it, I'll abide by it."
hill@vindy.com