Trumbull commissioners OK Newton Falls annexation of land near turnpike

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

Though attorneys for Braceville and Newton townships raised additional issues Wednesday they hoped might derail the annexation of 440 acres from the townships into Newton Falls, it didn’t work.

The Trumbull County commissioners voted 3-0 to approve the annexation upon the advice of Atty. Thomas Carey, who was hired to analyze the proposal and determine whether it met the requirements under Ohio law.

This was the second time Newton Falls asked the county commissioners for annexation of land near state Route 5 and the Ohio Turnpike interchange in an effort to encourage economic development.

Carey advised the commissioners in February that the first annexation petition was missing a few things, which Newton Falls added for this annexation request. He explained that if the proposal met the requirements, the commissioners would have no choice but to approve it.

After hearing about an hour’s worth of presentations from attorneys from Newton Falls and the townships, Carey and the commissioners discussed it briefly in private, then the commissioners voted to approve it.

Carey said the issues the townships raised Wednesday and their written objections to the annexation did not provide a legal basis to refuse the annexation.

Among the issues the townships argued were that Newton Falls is legally a village but used “City of Newton Falls” and referred in documents to its “city manager” and “city clerk.”

Atty. Alfred Shrader, representing Braceville Township, said the people being annexed into Newton Falls “ought to know what we’re annexing to, and I think that’s kind of basic.”

Atty. Cherry Poteet, representing Newton Township, said it would be impossible for the county auditor and treasurer to charge the right tax rates for the properties being annexed because the properties were not subdivided through the auditor’s office.

In some cases, a piece of property will be partly in Newton Falls and partly in one of the townships, Poteet said.

But Carey and Atty. Catherine Cunningham, representing Newton Falls, agreed that subdividing of that type is not required under the annexation statute.

After the meeting, Newton Falls Mayor Lyle Waddell said the property owners in the annexation area, who all signed the annexation petition, will now get Newton Falls services such as police, fire and ambulance services. They also will be able to get 40 percent lower water rates and 25 percent lower sewer rates.

The townships will retain their current property taxes, but Newton Falls will get income taxes from the new area and property taxes resulting from new construction, Waddell said.

Communities such as Streetsboro have seen commercial development near their turnpike interchanges, but the Route 5 interchange has not grown in 60 years, Waddell said.