Painesville Township-Grand River JEDD appeal dropped

An appeal of Lake County commissioners’ decision to reject the formation of a Joint Economic Development District has been dismissed.

Painesville Township and Grand River filed a motion June 16 to dismiss the appeal, which was ultimately granted by Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard L. Collins Jr.

In August 2016, Lake County commissioners disapproved of the creation of a Joint Economic Development District between Painesville Township and Grand River. In September, the township and village filed an appeal of that decision in Lake County Common Pleas Court.

Painesville Township and Grand River voted in July 2016 to create the JEDD and sent a packet of information to the commissioners Aug. 1.

Unlike cities and villages, townships do not have an income tax. A JEDD is a stateapproved “economic development tool” that serves as a sort of workaround for that.

A township partners with one or more municipality to expand utilities and roads onto rural township land for new industrial and commercial businesses. Meanwhile, the employees pay an income tax that is allocated toward future projects or sometimes given back to the townships, villages and cities involved. In this case Painesville Township would have received 75 percent of the revenue and Grand River 25 percent.

Painesville Township Administrator Mike Manary told The News-Herald that the economic development tool was to be used to help pay for needed stormwater infrastructure projects that will total a few million dollars. He also said the industrial businesses included in the JEDD have heavy truck traffic, which requires greater road maintenance.

The JEDD was scheduled to go into effect Sept. 1, 2016, less than two weeks before an updated version of the law started that offers existing businesses included in JEDDs greater protections. Because of the timing, the Painesville Township-Grand River JEDD would have fallen under the rules of the old law.

Officials and attorneys from the businesses included in the JEDD showed up at several commissioners meetings in August to voice their disapproval of its creation.

PET Processors President Blaise Codispoti told the commissioners he didn’t find out his 1350 Bacon Road business was to be included in the JEDD until he received a certified letter from the township after the agreement was already in place.

Hardy Industrial Services (679 Hardy Road), R& R Motors (1588 Mentor Ave.), Avery Dennison (670 Hardy Road), Nova Chemicals (786 Hardy Road), Morton Salt (570 Headlands Road, Grand River) Giant Eagle and GetGO (1201 Mentor Ave.), and Marc’s (1585 Mentor Ave.) were also included in the JEDD.

Business representatives criticized what they considered “arbitrary” lines drawn by the JEDD. Codispoti, who was one of the most outspoken critics of the JEDD, said another nearby manufacturing business was not included in the district. The JEDD puts his business at a disadvantage to other similar businesses in the township that would not have a 2 percent income levied against their employees.

Codispoti and his attorney, Benjamin Aveni, also accused the village and township of “vote-stacking” to get the JEDD petition approved. The village and township own many of the property parcels included in the JEDD, among those are six bus stops and Blish Cemetery.

Kenneth D. Schwartz of Avery Dennison told commissioners that the company was approached by the township and offered an exemption from the JEDD for 10 years if they signed up for it, something that “didn’t sit well” with their values or ethics. Commissioner Daniel P. Troy and then-Commissioners Judy Moran and Kevin Malecek were unanimous in their decision to disapprove the JEDD. Troy was the most outspoken of the three, calling it “horrible public policy.”

“If you’re going to impose taxation on business properties and employees of those business properties, certainly the makeup of that particular majority to get to that point should include entities that actually are impacted by that particular policy,” Troy said in August. “For that reason, this particular commissioner feels that disapproval of this joint economic development district should take place with this resolution.”

In October, Giant Eagle, PET Processors and Marc Glassman Inc. (Marc’s) filed motions to intervene in the appeal. Painesville Township Administrator Mike Manary said these other parties getting involved made the case “much bigger” than initially intended.

“The trustees thought it was time to let the case go,” Manary said.