St. Albans Township/Alexandria Merger Commission Meeting

Agenda/Minutes 5/15/2024

1. Call to order, pledge of allegiance

Chairperson Carianne Meng calls to Order the St. Albans Township/Alexandria Merger Commission Meeting of May 15, 2024 at 7:00PM.

Note: these meetings are for the Merger Commission to review findings and to draw up the conditions for a merger.

2. Committee Member Roll Call:  

Baer: Present / Not Present 

Barnes: Present / Not Present 

Burton: Present / Not Present

Lodder: Present / Not Present

Meng: Present / Not Present 

Robertson: Present / Not Present 

Schiller: Present / Not Present 

Taylor: Present / Not Present

Thorpe: Present / Not Present  

Zanks: Present / Not Present 

Additional Attendees: 

                  12 citizens, 1 member of the press

3. Review and Approval of Minutes 

Minutes from St. Albans Township/Alexandria Merger Commission Meeting 4/17/2024

Barnes made a motion; seconded by Baer, to approve the 4/17/2024.  All

in favor? Chair declares motion failed / carried. 

4. Old Business  

                  Drafting Merger Conditions

5. New Business

Dana McDaniel visited the commission – former city manager of Dublin for 30 years (9k residents). Dublin and Washington Township voted to establish a merger process. As city manager, he was very immersed in the merger process; wrote his capstone on municipal mergers. He now does consulting (here unpaid this evening; just interested in the process). Was also retained during the Pataskala-Lima merger.

Q: Having been involved in merger processes, what did you find to be the sticking points in communicating with constituents?
A: Often the issue of zoning is the hardest thing to communicate about. Village vs. unincorporated areas – and vice versa. Encourage everyone to zoom out – life doesn’t change the next day. There are many ways to work together to belay fears. Encourage us to think about what it would look like if we were to be one entity. Development happens whether we are separate or together. Really listen to the fears about that concept and work to satisfy that.
A: Communication piece is critical. Open, transparent. Try to build trust in the process, everyone should bring their best to the table. Create conditions. The MC will vote on them. Then the 2 entities (village and township).
A: Be careful what you listen to. Try to rise above the voices who haven’t listened.

Q: How do you fact check what the commission or citizens are saying?
A: It takes personal responsibility and self-study. Be present for the meetings, etc. ORC is fairly simple to read, you can follow that as well. Avoid the rumor mill and seek to understand. Put facts out on the website. Dublin established a hotline.

Q: How easy is it to deannex out of a city?
A: It’s a rigorous process, but someone can do it.

Q: Why did the Dublin merger fail?
A: The opposition spent tens of thousands of dollars versus ~$6000 for the pro-merger groups

Q: Did Dublin have information sessions?
A: There was no wait period in the past and no extension.

Q: There’s a senate bill in committee pushing for more affordable housing to be built. When the state passes things like that, does it impact cities and villages as much as it impacts unincorporated areas?
A: Dana advocates for home rule and charter cities. This means that it has adopted a model of home-rule government in accordance with the home-rule provisions found at Article XVIII of Ohio’s Constitution.

Drafting Merger Conditions 

• We have a firm that will be writing the legal conditions
• The firm is reviewing the ORC and will meet with us either next meeting or a newly scheduled meeting
• Plank and Associates – Rebecca Mott will likely be working with us.

JAG and Southwest discussions should wrap by the end of May.

Discussion of a new name:
-Racoon Town
-St. Alex
-Pam Hills – in the best interest to keep Alexandria. It took 4-5 years for the postal system to update everything. Don’t mess with the USPS.

General Updates:

Summary: We need to have conditions written by August 1, 2024. If we request an extension, we would have until August 1, 2025.  

6. Citizen Comments (3-minute time limit) 

Mike Washington: Need more details on “red” level bridges.

Question from the commission to crowd: How do you want the area to look/change?

• Not Etna, not warehouses, data centers and distribution center
• But some people don’t want large developments; homes don’t create enough revenue
• Look at old comprehensive plans – statements of intent
• Rural residential community
• A rural community, but taxes will have to go up to pay for it
• We missed 2 significant opportunities to plan our future in the past. Review what’s been done in the past (1995/8 Comp Plan). Western Licking Strategic Planning Committee – met for a year and a half.

Announcement: We need to put together a new village council, if this were to be approved. We are seeking names for that. 

7. Meeting Announcements 

The next meeting will be held on: Wednesday, June 19, 2024 at 7PM

8. Adjournment 

Lodder made a motion; seconded by Robertson, to adjourn.
All in favor? Chair declares motion carried / failed. 

Chairperson Meng declares the meeting adjourned at 8:47PM.