Poggemeyer Refuses To Comment On Conflict Of Interest

The Granville Press has repeatedly asked Poggemeyer Design Group to comment on charges of conflict of interest resulting from their developing both the Granville Comprehensive Plan and a grant application for Owens Corning. To date, Poggemeyer has not responded.

The controversial grant application that totals $5 million includes $1.2 million in state funds to lay a two-mile sewer line along Columbus Road, connecting the Pataskala-based Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District to the Owens Corning property.

The application was prepared by Poggemeyer Design Group and signed and submitted on May 13, 2008 by Township Trustee Bill Habig on behalf of Granville Township. Poggemeyer is a national planning and design firm with offices in Ohio and several other states. Poggemeyer has a long history with both the Village of Granville and Granville Township.

Poggemeyer holds the contract for the development of the Comprehensive Plan Update currently underway and nearly completed. The Village and the Township are sharing the cost of the plan update. Poggemeyer also was hired by the Village to analyze development possibilities within the River Road / South Main Street gateway district.

According to Granville Township Fiscal Officer, Norm Kennedy, “The cost to prepare the grant application was paid for by Owens. No payments were made by the township.”

It is not clear that the interests of the Village, the Township, and Owens Corning are all in accord - raising the question of just who is Poggemeyer working for?

One person commenting on this site wrote:

“Sadly, now that it is clear that Poggemeyer is working both sides, the Comprehensive Plan Update must be viewed as a tainted document. One can only guess what subtle, and perhaps not so subtle, wording was added to, changed in, or removed from the update in order to help their client Owens Corning. It is also quite likely that any recommendations or counsel from Poggemeyer to the group working on the plan would have been tainted.

“Finally, it makes one wonder whether Poggemeyer performed its work on the Comprehensive Plan Update with an eye toward encouraging potential future engagements with local developers. Pretty nice deal: “help” the local community plan out development and then sell yourself to the developers. This is a classic case of a conflict of interest.”

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) state on their website:

“The engineer’s judgment must be above reproach and beyond the influence of competing interests. Even the appearance of a conflict of interest is to be avoided.”

In their Fundamental Canons, the ASCE states,

“Engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest.”

Over the course of the past week, The Granville Press has sent three emails to various people at Poggemeyer Design Group pointing out the conflict of interest and the code of the ASCE and asking for comment. There have been no responses. Poggemeyer seems to be in the middle of an obvious conflict of interest and is unwilling to comment on the problem.

***

See previous stories about the Township - Owens Corning grant: