Illegal sessions alleged in Craig Beach fire pact

YOUNGSTOWN — The Craig Beach Volunteer Fire Department, a Craig Beach resident and a Milton Township resident have sued Craig Beach Village Council and the Milton Township trustees, alleging these bodies held illegal executive sessions concerning a fire protection contract between the village and the township.

The Craig Beach Volunteer Fire Department, Craig Beach resident George Meleski and Milton Township resident Charlene Yeager, whose husband, Sherman Yeager is the Craig Beach fire chief, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

The lawsuit seeks a court order nullifying actions of village council and the township trustees that allegedly arose from illegal executive sessions and barring those bodies from future violations of Ohio’s open meetings law.

The complaint alleges that the two governing bodies improperly recessed into executive session at least eight times between November 2006 and February 2008, with several of those violations pertaining to the fire protection contract for Craig Beach.

Read more in Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com