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MetroParks sues Green Twp. for land
YOUNGSTOWN
Mill Creek MetroParks is suing Green Township and its trustees to acquire a little more than an acre of township-owned land near Calla Cemetery for an ongoing recreational bike-trail project.
The eminent-domain suit, filed Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, offers $6,500 for the two parcels, which combined are valued at $15,100, according to the Mahoning County Auditor’s Office.
“They have talked to us a couple times, and what they presented to us we felt was unacceptable to the township and the community,” said Trustee George Toy. “It’s a shame Mill Creek MetroParks has gone this far – to sue another government identity.”
Toy said the MetroParks’ proposed route also would cut across a portion of the cemetery’s driveway.
The MetroParks suit includes a copy of meeting minutes from a May 2015 Green Township trustees meeting, showing the same board of trustees – Toy, Mark Stepuk and Dave Slagle – approved proposed changes to the bikeway between Western Reserve and Calla roads.
This is the MetroParks’ 12th eminent-domain suit filed since November, according to court records.
One such suit against Raymond and Susan Wilson of West Calla Road was mediated and settled Tuesday, according to court records. Those records, however, do not specify the settlement terms.
The proposed 100-mile Great Ohio Lake to River Greenway, about 80 percent of which already is built, would connect Lake Erie to the Ohio River through four counties, beginning at the lake in Ashtabula County, spanning Trumbull and Mahoning counties, then ending at the river in East Liverpool in Columbiana County.
About $4.5 million in MetroParks funding has been spent or earmarked for the current, third phase of the project, which spans 6.4 miles in Mahoning County – about 4.6 miles of which the MetroParks is working to acquire through eminent-domain lawsuits or other means.