Township Trustees Questioned About Owens Deal
By Kelly Swope
Public dialogue regarding the Owens Corning land development project continued on Wednesday evening at the township trustees meeting. During the citizens questioning period at the meeting's beginning, township resident Christopher Hawkins asked several questions concerning the timeline of Trustee Bill Habig's actions.
Habig undertook negotiations with the Village of Granville, Owens Corning and the Poggemeyer national planning and design firm that was hired to complete a grant application to the state. Over $1.2 million dollars of the grant would go towards sewer construction in the area.
According to Hawkins, the records of the village are "at variance" with the statements of Habig as to when certain events took place in the negotiation process. The village, Hawkins commented, seemed to enter late into the conversation over the application sent to the Ohio Department of Development.
Habig commented that when the village entered the picture, the application was approaching its mid-May deadline and therefore placed time constraints on the dialogue. In fact, the Village was asked for a letter on May 6 and delivered a letter on May 9.
Hawkins' main concerns were with the two sewer construction proposals at stake: the extension of the Southwest Licking sewer system from Pataskala to Granville or the extension of the Village of Granville system from the Kendall retirement community.
The decision of which system to incorporate, could impact the nature of future development projects in the area, affecting the size, the breadth and the cost of development. Also, sewers coming through the southern part of the township could lead to rapid development including hundreds of new residences that would put a serious strain on the school system.
Habig asserted that the best interest of the community was the first priority of the trustees and that the land would be put to a "better economic use for the taxpayers."
Hawkins also questioned the trustees about the guidelines of communication between the public and private sectors in a disputed issue in which both groups have a vested interest. The trustees insisted that communication with the public is essential in such a process, but that private affiliations also must be taken into account.
Specifically, Habig mentioned his authorization to deal with the Poggemeyer firm. His role as catalyst for the development negotiations for the Owens Corning property was approved by his fellow trustees in a vote, and his authority was subject to public scrutiny throughout the process, he said.
Hawkins suggested that there was a gap in communication between the trustees and the citizens of Granville and that some of Habig's actions seemed to transpire outside the realm of public evaluation. He requested that the trustees pursue more definitive methods of communication in their future actions involving the case. The trustees agreed.
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See previous stories about the Township - Owens Corning grant:
Lying it is
When I was a kid it was called lying as well. Habig is trying to mask his attempt to bring sewer from Southwest Licking into the township.
He was appointed to the trustees. He is a newcomer to Granville. He believes in development. He believes in urban sprawl. He created Gahanna and Westerville and the rest of central Ohio's "development."
He is not from Granville and I hope we don't let him spoil our community.
Where is everybody? Don't you care?
When I was a kid we called it...
"Habig commented that when the village entered the picture, the application was approaching its mid-May deadline and therefore placed time constraints on the dialogue. In fact, the Village was asked for a letter on May 6 and delivered a letter on May 9."
Remember that this is the same Bill Habig who some days ago told Christopher Hawkins, and I am quoting directly from Christopher's post regarding that conversation:
"This is was he told me.
* He contacted both SWL and Granville village manager Don Holycross about supplying sewer to the proposed development.
* He requested a letter from both indicating each entity's willingness to supply sewer.
* SWL responded quickly indicating they would
* Granville didn't respond until right before the deadline for the application submission.
* Because of the timing constraint Poggemeyer wrote up the application giving prominence to SWL.
* Granville was added an option at the very end."
When I was a kid we used to call what Habig has done lying. We will now be polite and refer to his remarks as being purposely deceitful and designed to damage the reputation of others.