Commissioners approve Grafton annexation from Eaton Twp. by 2-to-1 vote (UPDATED)

A divided Lorain County commission on Wednesday approved a petition to annex 42 acres of Eaton Township into the village of Grafton. The vote was 2 to 1, with commissioners David Moore and Michelle Hung voting to approve the petition and Matt Lundy voting against it. Kevin Flanigan and KNG Ltd. earlier this year asked commissioners to approve the annexation of a 42-acre portion of the Fiddler's Green development on Durkee Road into the village. The property, which is between Durkee Road to the west and the CSX Railroad tracks to the east, currently is in Eaton Township and 55 new homes are planned for it. Township officials opposed the plan while village officials supported it. Representatives of the village and township, along with experts and other witnesses, gave testimony over two days of public hearings in April. Moore said he thought the matter probably would end up in court. "I don't think all three of us enjoy this at all, but it's something that was thrown on us," he said Wednesday. Lundy said for better or worse, state law gives the decision-making power to commissioners. "I think the legislators in Columbus have certainly put commissioners in a box," Lundy said. "Regardless of the decision made, we're the bad guys for at least one party involved." And "I don't see where the benefits warrant annexation," Lundy said, calling annexation a matter of "subtraction and division" in which annexing property subtracts from one community and "leads to division" between neighbors. "I think we need to stop pitting communities against each other," he said. Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Dan Petticord, the commission's legal counsel, said he believed that the law required commissioners to approve the petition as long as they found the factors at issue were satisfied. Petticord said that the main issues at hand for commissioners to decide were how the maintenance of the road going through the property would be handled, which he said was resolved, and whether the benefits to the property in question outweighed the detriments. Hung said she believed, based on Petticord's legal counsel, that the new housing stock planned for the Fiddler's Green development benefits additional growth. The landowner desired the annexation and the cost of sewer service to the new homeowners will be "significantly lower" if provided by the village. "I do believe (the petition) meets the requirements," she said. "I do believe this meets the criteria." Eaton Township Trustee Matt Hignett said Wednesday that he and fellow trustees Jason Monschein and Randy Houston had yet to meet to discuss the outcome of Wednesday's vote. He said the trustees should have a "game plan" by Monday. "It's unexpected and not the way we wanted it to go," Hignett said about the vote. "The township shouldn't lose any more ground in annexation that way. It wasn't in our eyes a justifiable annexation." Messages seeking comment also were left Monschein, who testified against the petition at public hearings last month. Hignett said all three trustees are in "total agreement" that annexation is bad for the township. Attorney J.R. White of Fauver Co. LPA — which has also represented The Chronicle-Telegram in legal matters — released a brief statement on behalf of Flanigan and KNG Ltd. on Wednesday. "Kevin Flanigan would like to thank the county commissioners for their careful consideration of this matter. KNG looks forward to future development opportunities in Grafton, Eaton and the rest of Lorain County." Grafton Village Administrator Joe Price said Wednesday that the village respects the process and was grateful the majority of the commissioners saw in favor of the annexation. He said Grafton is not trying to take anything away from Eaton Township. Three-fourths of the Fiddler's Green development already is in the village, Price noted. The Lorain County Rural Wastewater District, or LORCO, is a cooperative that currently provides sewer service to many communities in Southern Lorain County including much of Eaton Township. Electricity is provided by the Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative. At risk of losing future potential customers, both utility providers spoke against the petition. Public Utilities Commission of Ohio regulations state the utilities would have been entitled to keep any customers already on the property had they existed, Price said. "Grafton is here to help the developer in ways it's accustomed to helping its own customers within its own sovereign borders," Price said. "We look forward to helping the developer finish that development." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him @daveobrienCT on Twitter.