“The developer has failed to complete all the improvements, performance and maintenance both,” Warren County Engineer Kurt Weber said.
The county plans to take action against the developer, Dominus Inc., to recover costs, even though the two principals at the development company have died.
Auteur Estates, off the 8100 block of Ohio 48 between East Lytle 5 Points Road and Ohio 73, has 32 luxury, custom homes on 66 acres. Its streets have cracks and potholes that require an estimated $175,000 for repairs and resurfacing work, Weber said.
The first houses were built in 2006, and Dominus Inc. did the final pavement work in 2014, but it has not performed well and led the county engineer’s office to order repairs.
The last follow-up inspection from the engineer’s office with the developer was in fall 2019.
Since then, the two principals, a father and son, have both died and the funds held at Chase Bank totaling $93,336.20 are not enough to cover the full resurfacing costs due to price increases over the last several years, Weber said.
The issue was brought to the commission’s attention by Clearcreek Twp. officials who discovered the streets of Auteur Estates — Hemingway Drive, Jack London Drive, Voltaire Court and Wilde Court — were never brought up to standard nor accepted for right of way maintenance.
However, county commissioners took exception to the letter from trustees demanding, instead of asking, for the county cover pavement costs. The letter says, “Accordingly, the township submits that the Board of Commissioners absorb all costs exceeding any bond proceeds to repave the streets of Auteur Estates subdivision before these streets are accepted for township maintenance.”
This subdivision constitutes an even greater liability to the township, Clearcreek Twp. Administrator Matt Clark said, which is why the township wanted the county to pay for the pavement work.
“There are also costs to be incurred in repair of catch basins, of which there are 27 in that particular subdivision, and there are underground lines and pipes and culverts. We don’t know the condition,” he said.
If resurfacing isn’t done this year, the costs milling and filling would triple, Clark told commissioners.
“The streets in Auteur Estates are critically degraded, and our road superintendent and I feel that, waiting another season, we may lose those roads entirely and be looking at a full-depth repair,” he said. “That’s why time is of the essence.”
Credit: Jen Balduf
Credit: Jen Balduf
Commissioners agreed to fund the road work upfront and demand release of the funds held by the bank in escrow in addition to recovering the shortfall from Dominus.
“I would think the appropriate course of action is to go after that corporation,” Commissioner David Young said.
According to development agreements, Dominus remains liable for any deficiency in funds collected from Chase Bank and the costs incurred by Warren County to finish the uncompleted improvements, plus 8% a year in interest.
The county can file an action against the corporation, said county Assistant Prosecutor Bruce McGary, legal adviser to the commission. Dominus is in good standing with the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office; however, McGary said recovery of funds is unlikely because it’s not known whether there are any assets.
Once the pavement work is complete, the township will accept the roads.
Mark Schriml, who lives on Wilde Court, said the Auteur Estates homeowners association recently had a meeting about the state of the streets.
“I’m really happy if that’s the case they’re going to come in and (finishing) it,” he said of the commissioners’ resolution.
Commissioners said it is unfair to the residents who have been paying taxes but have terrible streets.
“Why has it taken six years if this was made evident to you in 2019, why are we here in 2025?” Commissioner Shannon Jones said to Weber. “Because presumably in 2019 there was an operating corporation with assets.”
Weber said it’s been the practice to do everything they can to let the developers perform. In light of this case, he said his office is discussing it internally to come up with a better process, which likely would involve coming before the commission more often to declare developers in default.
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