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VIENNA -- Trustees approved the annexation agreement between itself, Howland and Niles at their meeting Monday as they marked the final vote in the drawn out, and often heated, fight over 31 acres at the intersection of Stillwagon and Niles Vienna roads.
According to a joint statement released by the parties on Sept. 22, the townships will not object to the annexation and the city will agree that properties in Vienna and Howland that receive Niles utilities will not be required to annex into the city or enter into a development-incentive agreement to continue receiving the utility services from the city.
The agreement is for 20 years, with automatic renewals at five-year intervals, unless the city and the townships all agree to end the agreement.
Of the seven parcels being annexed, one belongs to Jeffrey and Mary Ann Heston, and six are owned by Bagnoli Irpino LLC, which is owned by Niles police Capt. James Villecco, according to Ohio Secretary of State documents. Of the 31.3 acres in question, 11.2 are in Vienna and 20.1 are in Howland.
Trustee Phil Pegg said the annexation will affect Vienna.
"Anytime a township loses property, it affects us as a whole," he said. "One of the original reasons I became a trustee was to keep Vienna how it was. We're not broken up into a bunch of subpar (land plots), and we're proud of that and we fight hard. We fight hard to stay as one unit."
Pegg said although they fought hard, the trustees can no longer put any more resources into the cause.
"I'm not happy with it but we did the best we could with what we had," he said.
Howland resident Steve Vasch said he thought there could have been a different outcome.
"My question is, could your position have been different in that particular situation? If you said 'No' and there was no agreement entered between the three parties, how would that have affected the outcome?" Vasch said.
Trustee Robert Root III said trustees spoke with their lawyer before deciding to stop fighting and let Niles have the land. He said state law would have favored Niles in this case.
"The way it works is the whole Ohio law, the statute is drafted for cities to annex townships and enlarge themselves," he said. "So do we spend as a township, tons of money on outside counsel, or do we cut our losses?"
Vasch said his property is directly affected by the annexation.
"Our property line is Vienna and Howland," he said. "Right now, that property line's about to change because now you're going to have a three-way intersection over there, which is now going to be Niles-Vienna."
Pegg said the property line won't change and that it's going to remain Niles, Howland and Weathersfield.
The terms sheet is available for public review on the Niles city website at www.cityofniles.com under press releases and the Howland website at HowlandTownship.org.