Trumbull commissioners hire lawyer for sewer dispute with Warren

Staff report

WARREN

The Trumbull County commissioners followed through with the hiring of a law firm to address a dispute with the city of Warren over sewer rates for customers in Champion and Lordstown.

The commissioners originally placed an item on their Oct. 24 meeting agenda to appoint Atty. Joseph Cavassini to handle the dispute for the county.

But Commissioner Dan Polivka voted no, so the measure did not pass. It passed Wednesday 2-0 with Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa abstaining.

Warren filed suit against the county Nov. 2 over the matter, demanding $3 million it says the county owes the city for sewage treatment.

Polivka said Wednesday he was taken by surprise when the city sued the county because he was part of a negotiating team that had attempted for about six months to resolve the dispute.

Polivka said he was part of the committee because of his good relationship with Warren Mayor Doug Franklin.

“We thought we were going to get a resolution, but at the last minute, they pulled out,” Polivka said.

Atty. Matt Blair, who handles many of the day-to-day legal matters for the sanitary engineer’s office, said the “only winners” in this scenario are “a law firm from Cleveland and a law firm from Columbus.”

The city’s law firm is from Columbus. Cavassini is from Cleveland.

Cantalamessa said he and his brother, Warren Safety Service Director Enzo Cantalamessa, will abstain from involvement in the dispute because of their being brothers and their positions with the two governments.

In other business, the commissioners approved loaning $20,000 to the Trumbull County MetroParks that will be used to pay for acquisition of five acres that will be part of the Eagle Creek Wetlands MetroParks off of Nelson Mosier Road in Braceville Township.

The total park will be about 135 acres and includes an 1815 log cabin. A state NatureWorks grant is paying for the land acquisition.

The MetroParks will return the $20,000 when the grant money is provided to the MetroParks.

The Western Reserve Land Conservancy is donating about 130 acres. The park will be a nature preserve providing passive recreation, such as bird watching and hiking, said Zach Svette, operations director for the MetroParks.