×

Engineer: No services to planners

Executive director shocked by decision

WARREN — The executive director of the county planning department said she was “shocked” to learn Trumbull County Engineer Randy Smith is trying to stop providing survey and expertise services to her department.

“We’ve always had a good relationship with representatives from the Engineer’s Office in the past. We’ve worked well together on various projects. It’s news to me,” said Trish Nuskievicz, executive director of the Trumbull County Planning Commission.

Smith notified Trumbull County commissioners Tuesday that he is seeking a legal opinion from the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office to see if his employees are allowed to stop providing services to the commission.

Nuskievicz said she and Smith never spoke or discussed issues or concerns Smith had with her office before asking for an opinion. When she called to speak with Smith after learning of the letter from the Tribune Chronicle, his office sent an email reply in response to her message.

“Based upon recent circumstances, all future communication between the planning commission and this office shall be in written form,” the email states.

Communication between the various county departments isn’t only a professional courtesy, but crucial to daily operations in the county, Nuskievicz said.

“So I don’t know why he has never reached out to me to discuss whatever issues he has had,” Nuskievicz said.

And, Nuskievicz said, Smith’s office isn’t providing its services to the planning commission, but to the county as a whole.

“We are all on the same team. If there is a responsibility of the planning commission, I fulfill it. If it is the responsibility of the engineer’s office, they provide those services. These are all county initiatives that require work from both of our offices,” Nuskievicz said.

Smith said he believes the Ohio Revised Code will allow him to end the services for the commission if providing them takes up too many resources and interferes with regular duties.

Smith said three issues are creating a burdensome relationship between the commission and his office — that his employees have to spend too much time educating commission employees on the information it is providing to them, that the two clashed heads over the interpretation of regulations for survey markers in a road for a new development, and that it took longer than it should have to get information from the commission Smith needed in a lawsuit.

Nuskievicz said an attorney representing Smith sent her a letter June 7 requesting information related to a lawsuit. In her response dated June 8, Nuskievicz attached the requested information and stated, “I would like to make note that this is the first public records request received that specifies documents being requested, so I had my secretary scan the majority of the file and have attached scans of those documents. There are some larger drawings and photos in the file, which I believe may have been taken by the county engineer’s office, if needed. The file here at the planning commission has always been open and available for review by the county engineer’s office and anyone else for that matter. We are in frequent communication with the engineer’s office, so I am not sure why they didn’t just come over and copy whatever information they need instead of involving outside counsel.”

The engineer’s office was seeking information about a performance bond issued in 2008 to the Sudheendra Family Limited Partnership for work done on Bennington Ridge in Howland.

The planning commission is never a bondholder, wasn’t a part of the lawsuit and did not inspect the projects, Nuskievicz stated in an email.

But, she had an employee scan everything from the file that would fit, Nuskievicz said.

“We are an open book, they or anyone else can come down and ask for information and we will accommodate them. Once they specified what they wanted, I responded immediately,” Nuskievicz said.

Smith’s other complaint — when his employees provide a service essential to a planning commission project it takes them too long to explain things to commission employees — is taking too much time away from his employees, who have an increased work load lately, he said.

“When we have time to do stuff we do. But everything is problematic with them and it is taking more time and energy than we have,” Smith said. “They had a very professional surveyor and now they don’t have one on staff. It requires more time from our offices to educate them about the information that we are giving them. And the effort seems unproductive.”

Nuskievicz said she is doing more with less and has three positions that need to be filled, but defended the quality of the employees she has on staff.

Nuskievicz said Smith’s third issue — a disagreement earlier this year about the interpretation of subregulations regarding the placement of survey markers — was a miscommunication that could have been resolved more quickly if there had been more communication between the offices.

“There is nothing that can’t be worked out between two county departments for the betterment of Trumbull County, but you actually have to pick up the phone,” Nuskievicz said.

Smith said he does not know if his office could charge the planning commission for its work — which includes plat reviews, field inspections and providing information on anything involving drainage and roads.

Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa said if Smith receives an opinion stating he doesn’t have to continue providing services, the commissioners won’t be able to stop him because Smith is an elected official.

The county would have to pay for all of the surveying and engineering issues the commission deals with — at a time when the commissioners are searching for ways to deal projected budget difficulties, Cantalamessa said.

rfox@tribtoday.com

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
     

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.85/week.

Subscribe Today