Alexandria to vote in May on dissolution

Voters in Alexandria will decide in May whether to dissolve the village or retain local governance of their 187-year-old community.

The Village Council voted Monday to place the issue on the May 8 ballot, following discussion over whether to do it during next year’s general election in November, said Mayor Andy Hallam.

It’s been a contentious issue in the Licking County community of about 500 people that has dealt with the theft of public funds by a

former fiscal officer, turnover in elected posts and questions about whether the effort to dissolve the village was completed in a legal fashion.

“It’s about time,” Stanley Robinson said of the ballot decision. He is one of the people who circulated the petitions to turn the village into an unincorporated part of St. Albans Township.

Hallam, in the final days of his term, and Mayor-elect Jim Jasper, also a current councilman, both oppose the dissolution effort.

Jasper was among those

who signed the initial petitions to place the issue before voters. But, he said, “if this many people want to vote for this, they deserve the opportunity to vote.”

The village, located between New Albany and Newark north of Route 161, has had its share of trouble in recent years, highlighted by the theft of more than $167,000 in public funds by former fiscal officer Laura VanScoy Andrews. She pleaded no contest in November to charges of theft in office and tampering with records and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Hallam said the village is back on track, however, with progress made in 2017 on long-overdue road repairs, park improvements and other upgrades. The village’s financial books are in order, following a lengthy process of reconstructing records.

In February, Robinson and others submitted petitions

to unincorporate the village. Robinson continues to support the dissolution, for efficiency’s sake.

“It’s an overly expensive way of getting our village services taken care of,” he said. “The township can do it more efficiently. For 200 houses, an incorporated village government is just too expensive.”

The village took about 10 months to review the petitions, and Hallam, Village Solicitor Michael Moran and others continue to have questions about their validity. But council members on Monday night agreed that it was time to place the issue before voters.

“I’ll be at the polls May 8,

voting no,” Hallam said. “I hope the village of Alexandria’s voters do the same. I don’t really see any benefit in dissolving. What I see is New Albany and Columbus expanding and moving eastward. If we are a township, it’s a lot easier to annex us in and change our taxes.”

Jasper, who has lived in Alexandria for most of his life, said he thinks a majority of residents will vote against dissolution.

“I’ve gotten nothing but positive feedback from people. I really think we’re going in the right direction.,” he said.