Mayor Keith Funk said he and the other six council members don’t want Monroe taxpayers to foot the bill for supplying services to Lemon Twp. residents or businesses. If that happened, Monroe residents “would be left holding the bag,” Funk said.
Then he added: “We all want what’s best for everybody. We can work together on development.”
Lemon Twp. Trustee President Joe Routsong noted the township and the city have always had a positive partnership and he wants that to continue. He hopes to add a variance to the ordinance that if a property owner pays for the water services they can remain in the township.
Michael Garver, whose farm is located on Ohio 63, said the ordinance could be the final “nail in the coffin” for the township’s future.
“We are getting beat up,” Garver said.
Funk said the ordinance was more about being “preventative” than trying to annex land. He called the township with about 2,800 residents “a fabric of who we are” in Monroe. He said the township, which has parcels on both sides of Ohio 63, includes the last pieces of rural property in the city.
Council member Ben Wagner called the township land “a big part of our character” along Ohio 63.
Council member John Centers, the city’s former fire chief, added: “We want you guys to thrive. We like that part of the city.”
Funk told the several township residents who attended the meeting that the ordinance could be reviewed on a case by case basis to determine what would be the best outcome for the city and the township.
He doesn’t want the township property owners to sell their land and potentially turn the farmland on Ohio 63 into the “wild west,” he said.
After the meeting, Funk told the Journal-News the ordinance was about “laying the groundwork” for future city councils and administrations should the township dissolve later,
“Those properties could go to any political justifications and not the city unless they chose to,” Funk said.
Routsong stressed the township is financially strong and pays the city of Monroe $205,000 annually for fire and street services.
“The township is fine,” he said. ”We want to prevent from going downhill."
The two sides agreed to continue discussing the ordinance. Funk said the city’s law director will prepare legislation that council could vote on at a later meeting.
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