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Wednesday, April 13, 2011 11:40 AM
By CANDY BROOKS
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Voters probably will decide whether the village of Riverlea will become part of the city of Worthington.
By a 5-2 vote during a special Sunday night meeting April 10, Worthington City Council put into motion negotiations to set terms of the annexation of the 545-resident village. According to state law, once a six-member commission sets the terms of the annexation, it then must be decided by voters of both Worthington and Riverlea.
The city still could pass an ordinance to accept the annexation without a vote of residents, but that decision could be overturned by a petition signed by 25 percent of registered Worthington voters. Council may hot, however, vote to reject the annexation after the commission's decision.
The annexation bid came from a committee of Riverlea residents, who successfully collected enough signatures to put the annexation process into motion.
During the Sunday meeting, Worthington council had the option of doing nothing, which would have stopped the annexation bid.
Instead, members voted to declare the city's intent to enter into annexation negotiations and appointed three council members to represent the city on the annexation commission.
Council president Lou Goorey and council members Bob Chosy and Robert Schmidt will serve on the commission. Representing Riverlea will be Kirk McHugh, Scott Gordon and Eric MacGilvray.
If the six cannot agree to terms of annexation, a Franklin County probate judge must appoint a nonresident to the commission.
The commission has 120 days to arrange the conditions of annexation and report back to the councils of Worthington and Riverlea.
Both then must order the question to be placed on the ballot at the next election, according to state law.
Worthington council has the right to waive the election, but several council members on Sunday said they voted to continue with the process so that voters could make the decision.
"If it's a bad deal for Riverlea, they'll vote it down," Worthington council member Dave Norstrom said. "If it's a bad deal for Worthington, we'll vote it down."
Sunday's discussion was less amicable, though, as members of both councils and residents debated the issues for two-and-a-half hours.
Riverlea Mayor Mary Jo Cusack made it clear that the annexation bid had not come from officials of the village, but rather from a group of residents working independently of village council.
Village council was required to enter into discussions and appoint three commissioners once the petition was certified by the Franklin County Board of Elections.
"My present thought is, this isn't going to pass, but I don't know that," she said.
MacGilvray said he has been approached by Riverlea residents, asking how he could let this occur.
Some who signed the petition believed erroneously that annexation to Worthington would solve such problems as children being prohibited from cutting through private property en route to school. It would not, he said.
Others wanted the city to rescue the village from the rising cost of maintaining its roads and sewers, he said.
"If you offered me $10 million to fix the infrastructure, I would say no," MacGilvray said. "It's not for sale."
Norstrom rejected Cusack's recommendation that the issue be delayed until both sides are able to informally discuss the issue.
"In government, delay can kill anything," Norstrom said. "You did not give a balanced presentation."
Cusack said some of the petition signers are unhappy with the village's planning commission, which has made some unpopular decisions regarding proposed lot splits.
Worthington council member Scott Myers said he was confused about the motivation behind the annexation proposal. Is it about money or an internal political battle? he asked.
McHugh said the process began out of genuine concern of some residents but in the end would be punitive to some people.
The question regarding the relative costs and benefits to both subdivisions would be one to be studied further by the commission.
Updated but preliminary figures from city officials on Sunday showed Worthington gaining $98,165 in annual revenues following annexation but paying $310,070 to $610,070 annually.
The expense figure probably would be on the lower side of the projection because Worthington city engineer Bill Watterson looked at the projected cost of street repairs and determined they would be on the lower end of the projected $200,000 to $500,000 cost.
The infrastructure cost could be even less if a fee were charged to Riverlea residents for the street repairs, Norstrom said. He said he believes Worthington could benefit from the additional population.
Myers and Chosy cast the dissenting votes.
Chosy said he hopes Riverlea someday becomes part of Worthington, but he sees a "shaky background" to the present movement.
Myers said his vote was not about costs but about the future of Riverlea.
"Riverlea is going to lose its character as a village," he said.
