'We don't want to give up our land': Wellington Township residents sign petition against First Energy transmission project

WELLINGTON TWP. — Nineteen residents have signed a petition opposing a $22 million First Energy project they fear could eat away at their rural township properties. Chris Farnsworth, whose farm sits on 135 acres on Pitts Road, collected the signatures from neighbors. All live along one of the two possible routes the power company wants to use to beef up its 138-kilovolt line, running from the lakefront in Lorain to a substation just south of Wellington. "We don't want to give up our land," Farnsworth said. "We're going to fight that tooth and nail. It's a kind of David-and-Goliath situation." An easement along the path already allows First Energy to use residents' land. It's been in place since 1952, according to Farnsworth. But he said residents fear the company will try to forcibly expand the area it's allowed to use. Farnsworth said he already can't build any structures under the lines that run diagonally across the entire length of his farm. He acknowledged the transmission poles were strategically placed so they don't directly affect his daily operations. If First Energy opts to expand north or south, he said it could cause headaches, and potentially destroy nearby woodlands. "We want to preserve it as best we can. The farm means a lot to us," he said. "We don't want anybody to come in there and think they're going to destroy it. We know that the poles have been there a while, we know the lines have been there for a while. If they need to replace them, fine. But they need to work within the existing easement." In a Jan. 8 public meeting, First Energy representatives said they haven't decided exactly where the 138-kilovolt transmission lines will run. Maps provided by the utility company show the main trunk traveling down Quarry Road. From there it would cut east. One possible route would start near Jones Road and skirt the south side of the village's Upground Reservoir, passing through the Parkside Reserve neighborhood. The other potential route would depart Quarry just north of Bursley Road and zigzag across Clark, Griggs and Smith roads to the substation. Farm & Home Hardware owner Scott Jerousek owns acreage on the south side of the village, and worries First Energy will try to force the sale of some of it through eminent domain. "They are talking about expanding, taking some more land that I'd be able to use," he said. His land there is zoned commercially. Jerousek wants to eventually develop it, and said First Energy could hurt the value of the land. Another reason he signed the petition is what he described as a lack of information provided by the power company. Farnsworth said that feeling was echoed by every signatory. Several told him they got conflicting information from First Energy representatives and contractors at the Jan. 8 meeting. The petition has been sent to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and the Ohio Power Siting Board, Farnsworth said. He said he thought about going after thousands of signatures from across Lorain County, but decided to limit the petition to just those land owners who would be affected by the transmission line route. "From our point of view, we don't want any more butchering of our land," he said. The project is intended to provide a second source of power to the Wellington electrical substation and limit blackouts, according to a fact sheet from American Transmission Systems Inc., which is owned by First Energy. "A lot of it is the existing grid. It's aging. It's old. It needs updates," said First Energy spokesman James Cannon last month. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 647-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.