To pay or to plant – that is the question

By Andrew Walsh
awalsh@wbcowqel.com

The 2012 cleanup along the Olentangy River in Galion is getting to be more expensive than originally planned. The question being debated in Galion City Council and the city administration is just how much more expensive.

The compensation due to Majid Ressallat from the City of Galion received lengthy discussion Tuesday night, with council eventually passing a resolution granting him $9,500 on a first reading.

The incident in question took place in the spring of 2012 when trees were being cleared out along the Olentangy river banks. Ressallat’s property had a good deal of trees removed, several of them quite mature, and after some review the City had promised to make this loss of property value right.

Many properties along this stretch had trees removed, but the Ressallat’s property received a rather thorough clean up. The problem arises from the fact that the city did not have an easement in place to do this. It was believed that such an easement existed, what Mayor Tom O’Leary termed a “folklore easement,” but this was not in fact the case.

While the administration and council were in agreement that this problem needed to be addressed, and that Mr. Ressallat is due some sort of settlement, there were differences as to the form and amount of this settlement.

Councilman Matt Strickler, although he later voted in the affirmative on the resolution, took issue with the size of the settlement.

“I’m not saying we didn’t do anything wrong,” Stickler said, “I’m saying 35 trees seems excessive and $10,000 is excessive.”

The 35 trees Strickler mentioned made reference to the way the settlement was worded. Estimates were made by the city and by Ressallat as to the extent of the damage done, and that damage was framed in a dollar amount according to the trees that were removed. The settlement, as it is worded, would award Ressallat $9,500, which is equal in value to the 35 trees that were removed and what it would cost to install fresh trees on the property.

The nature of the settlement came into question as well. Is the city intending to award Ressallat a check for $9,500, or will he be made whole with the installation of these trees?

Council President Don Faulds argued that the settlement would be in the form of a payment, with Ressallat free to do with it as he wished. The Mayor, in particular, was against this viewpoint, stating his belief that the recompense should come in the form of what was taken.

Shirley Clark raised the point that none of this work will go forward until springtime and the weather improves, due to this council is considering getting another estimate. The Mayor also raised that point that $5,000 of the estimate was for the installation of these trees and that seemed extremely high. In his opinion, the staff that the City has on hand already would be able to install these trees at a rate much lower than that.

The resolution passed on a first reading, and it will be given more consideration after the first of the year.

Another property along the 598 widening project was brought into the fold, with the paperwork from Speedway receiving the official go ahead. As per the agreement with ODOT that all of the parcels either be settled or filed in court, Speedway was one of two parcels that had been filed with the courts. Law Director Roberta Wade will be dismissing that case on Dec. 18, with the sole remaining property left out being McDonalds. Wade hoped that McDonalds would be on board soon, and cited their complicated corporate structure as a chief cause of the delay.

Also in widening project news, the passage of Resolution 2013-20 authorized the Mayor to enter into a contract with the State of Ohio. The total remaining City share stands at $223,362 which is way below the $350,000 which was predicted and appropriated. This resolution was passed as an emergency to allow the Mayor to submit the necessary documents by the January 2 deadline.

Outgoing council members Matt Strickler and Missy Harris, as well as outgoing Law Director Roberta Wade, were thanked for their service and given a round of applause by everyone in attendance. Council President Faulds also thanked those who attend meetings regularly while wishing that more would do so. “I look forward to working with our public,” Faulds said before he wished everyone a “Merry Christmas.”