“Monroe is holding hostage the township,” Garver told the commissioners. “This needs to be addressed for the survivability of our township. I represent the residents of our township and I wish to keep it a township.”
The city passed an ordinance in December that requires residents in all unincorporated areas to annex to the city if they want to hook up to city utilities. Monroe has a wholesale water service contract with the county, so the residents thought the commissioners might have some leverage as they renegotiate the deal.
The city has contracted with the county since 2004 to provide water for $1.4 million annually and received a contract extension in October that expires May 31.
Township resident Brian Hagerman said their taxes will increase if they’re forced to annex and “the city ordinances aren’t in alignment with having a sheep farm and a vineyard which is what we have and what we’re trying to grow to sustain our family.”
“I wanted to communicate that as a resident of Lemon Twp. to try to save Lemon Twp.,” he said. “Just to ask you to do what you can as commissioners overseeing water and the fact indeed it does feel like being held hostage by the city of Monroe.”
Commissioner Don Dixon suggested — and the rest of the board concurred — they need to get a legal opinion.
“I think we ought to ask the prosecutor for a written opinion on what you can do and can’t do in a contract with in this case another governmental entity in Butler County,” he said. “That’s going to determine where we go.”
County Administrator Judi Boyko said as of Tuesday they have not received the prosecutor’s opinion, but she isn’t allowed to share it once they get it.
City Manager Larry Lester told the Journal-News, “the ordinance was really drafted and approved to guide future development and the city has not received a formal request for any type of annexation or water line connection.” To-date he said there are only 13 water utility contracts with township residents.
Lester also noted the ordinance allows the city to grant exceptions to the annexation rule on a case-by-case basis for things like health emergencies, “unusual hardship” and other special circumstances.
Apparently someone wasn’t betting on the commissioners’ support because a flyer was circulated — the date stamp was April 28, the day before the commission meeting — warning residents “Lemon Township is in danger of being annexed into the city of Monroe. The danger is closer than you think. We need you to get involved ASAP.” It also noted annexation would mean a “2% city payroll tax immediately” among other consequences.
It gives email addresses and the office number for the three commissioners and emails and cell phone numbers for trustees Janet Majors and Joe Routson.
It accused Routson of working on a deal with the city to annex the entire township. Routson said he didn’t receive the missive directly, someone share it with him, but many others obviously did, since 75 to 100 people showed up to their meeting last Thursday. He denies there has been any deal-making.
“The vast majority of what’s in that flyer is completely false and the city of Monroe’s city manager and a couple council members and their public works director all stood up and said the same thing, they have absolutely no plans to annex any property, no person has requested to be annexed to the city of Monroe,” he said. “All that stuff in the flyer was false.”
Lester confirmed there haven’t been any one-on-one discussions with township officials about mass annexation. There was a joint meeting with city council members and township trustees last month when the annexation issue was and utility service was generally discussed.
Garver told the Journal-News he’d like to know who sent the flyer.
“I’d like to know, the finger is being pointed at me, but I had absolutely nothing to do with that,” Garver said and later added. “I am taking a lot of heat over that post card and I had nothing to do with it, the only thing that I do have something to do with is trying to work for the residents of this township and to keep it a township.”
Garver addressed the commissioners on his own behalf but now the trustees are sending an official request for the commissioners’ support in this matter. Garver and Routson agreed to send the letter but Majors abstained.
She told the Journal-News, “the reason I abstained was it wasn’t clear what we were asking them to do,” she said adding the township has nothing to do with the contract between the county and Monroe.
She also debunked the mass annexation rumor, “There’s nothing going on, the city hasn’t come to anybody wanting to annex Lemon Twp.”
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