TRUMBULL COUNTY Owners file petition; seek water, sewer aid

The township's trustees have forecast this area for residential growth.
BAZETTA -- Property owners in a part of Bazetta Township said to be prime for further residential development have asked Trumbull County to build and maintain sanitary sewers and water mains.
County commissioners received a petition last week signed by 35 owners of lots and lands on McCleary-Jacoby Road, Cadwallader Sonk Road and Niles-Cortland Road (state Route 46).
They say they'd like to be rid of their septic systems and want to tie into a water supply, rather than wells.
Their petition was referred to the county sanitary engineer's office for review and recommendations. The petitioners consent to their properties being assessed for the cost of the improvements, to be determined by the county, and agree to pay the service charges.
The petition comes from the exact area that in April had been forecast for subdivision growth by Bazetta officials.
Gary Newbrough, Trumbull County's sanitary engineer, noted then that one of the problems in Bazetta has been the inability to get enough support on a petition. He had suggested trustees make a stronger effort to secure petitions for water and sewer.
That process had already been set in motion. Township trustees passed out petition forms about a year ago to parties that might be interested in obtaining water and sewer services.
"I'm glad they went ahead with it," Trustee William Glancy said of the petitioners and their decision to approach the county.
Anticipated development
Glancy said he's learned that two developers want to create housing subdivisions on McCleary-Jacoby Road directly off Route 46.
During a summit the township held with neighboring communities in April, Bazetta officials said they expected more than 1,000 new homes and condos to be built townshipwide in the next five years, increasing the population to about 8,500 residents who will need water and sewer service.
The summit was for discussing options with Trumbull County, Warren and others for bringing in water and sewer.
"These things are starting to come rapidly now," explained Trustee Michael Piros.
Piros also noted that areas with well water and septic systems are being nudged by the county health department to tap in to utilities.
One resident on McCleary-Jacoby, for example, said having sewer service makes it easier to sell a home in the county, because of its rules regarding septic systems and their upkeep.
The McCleary-Jacoby area is in the southern end of the township toward Howland, and a county sewer line is in the area, Piros said.
The residential growth is also expected on vacant land on Bazetta, North Park and Johnson Plank roads.