County leaders hear pitches for and against annexation

April 13, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

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NORTH LIMA

Mahoning County commissioners are to decide within 30 days the fate of a petition to annex about 57 acres from Beaver Township into the city of Columbiana.

During a 90-minute hearing Tuesday at the Beaver Township Administration Building, commissioners heard testimony favoring and opposing the annexation, which is being sought for the Lake Front Golf Course. The business wants access to Columbiana water and sanitary sewers.

The boundaries are close to but not exactly bordered by state Routes 46 and 164 to the west and east, respectively, and state Route 14 to the south. It is just west of Arrowhead Lake.

Atty. Joseph W. Gardner, who represents Hempfield Partners Inc., the property owner, said neither Mahoning County nor the Columbiana School District would lose any of their tax base.

The golf course and its restaurant are having water-related problems, and it would be much easier and less costly for them to tap into Columbiana water and sewers, he explained.

Cleaner, healthier water would allow the struggling business to maintain about 15 jobs and possibly expand, creating more, said Gardner, adding that a sanitary-sewer system would prevent sewage from leaking into a nearby stream.

“Annexation will be a catalyst for growth in Mahoning County,” he said.

Atty. Alan D. Wenger, who represents Beaver Township, opposed the petition, saying the township will lose land and tax receipts yet still be obligated to provide the same services.

The township also would lose nearly two-thirds of inside millage collected annually on the land, Wenger explained.

Both sides have about 14 days to file briefs, and a decision should be made by mid-May, noted John A. McNally IV, chairman of the commissioners.