Craig Beach, Milton bodies sued over executive sessions

The court should void an improperly reached fire contract, a lawsuit says.

STAFF REPORT

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.

In an affidavit accompanying the lawsuit, Sherman Yeager said his department was under contract to provide fire protection to the village for more than 20 years until village council decided not to renew the contract this year.

This year, the two bodies approved a contract for the township fire department to provide fire protection to the village “without any substantive discussions” in public sessions, the lawsuit says.

Linette Stratford, chief of the civil division of the county prosecutor’s office, which represents the townships, declined to comment because she hadn’t discussed the complaint with the Milton Township trustees.

Craig Beach Mayor Larry Ellis could not be reached for comment.

The complaint, filed by Atty. Warren Bo Pritchard, is assigned to Judge James C. Evans.