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Settlement in Springfield Essroc to give township $2M for road improvements
NEW SPRINGFIELD
A hundred-foot drop-off awaits those who ignore signs at the end of Rapp Road.
Then there’s a creek — unnaturally blue from strip mining residue — and a steep incline that leads to what’s left of Essroc’s limestone-mining operations in northeast Springfield Township.
“We only own this right-of way, and that’s where a road would have to go,” said Springfield Trustee Robert Orr, pointing across the creek.
“A small group of people who want the road put back in, most haven’t seen this. Others in that group want us to put a bridge here. That would be the ultimate bridge to nowhere,” Orr added.
The township originally had a contract with Carbon Limestone in 1978, in which the company agreed to reconstruct Western Reserve Road from Kansas Road to State Line Road and Rapp and Donaldson roads from Felger road once it stopped mining operations. Carbon Limestone has since sold the mining rights to Essroc.
Trustees voted 2-1 Jan. 30 to accept a $2 million settlement from Essroc in lieu of the road reconstruction. The settlement money will be used to improve the 30 miles of township roads. As part of the settlement Essroc will continue to give the township 3,000 tons of crushed and screened limestone annually for the next seven years.
Orr said the township would have faced a costly court battle with Essroc to reconstruct the roads, and many roads built on reclaimed land from mining have soft spots and steep drop-offs that would add to the township’s liability.
Zonda Haase lives on Felger Road and owns property on Rapp Road and said she’s pleased with the decision.
“It’s a no-brainer. We want what is going to be the best in the long run for everybody, and that would be what the company is offering. Let’s not be gold-diggers; Let’s get some kind of reclamation done,” she said.
Haase said many of her neighbors support the settlement, too.
“How do we know it’s going to go anywhere?” Haase asked of Rapp Road, which originally did dead-end before mining started.
Orr said even though the roads that will be vacated — or closed permanently — are township roads, the Mahoning County commissioners are the only governmental body that can officially vacate a road. The trustees are sending the information to the commissioners for a decision, he said.
Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti said the measure hasn’t come before the board yet, but that she personally would support vacating the roads.
“I think I would follow the lead of the trustees because they represent the people. ...They would know about what their township needs, and financially I think $2 million would help them take care of a lot of other issues,” she said.
Road Superintendent Richard Kennedy said the immediate plan is to improve Rapp and Felger roads with the settlement money. He said work will begin as soon as the commissioners give approval and settlement money starts to roll in, which he hopes will be before the end of this year.
“We’ll widen Felger Road. For Rapp Road, we’ll widen it, improve the drainage and end it in a cul de sac, the exact location of which is to be determined,” Kennedy said.
A road-work time line yet has to be formalized, but the township has contacted an engineering firm for some preliminary studies.
“We’re not losing that much of our roadways. If you live or travel on a township road, it will get done now. We are going to spend the money on road improvements,” Orr said.
Last year, the road department used $391,452 of the $510,803 it was budgeted. The total amount the township spent in 2011 was $2.2 million out of the $2.7 million budgeted.