Buckeye Lake mayor authorized snow removal on private street

BUCKEYE LAKE - The mayor of the Village of Buckeye Lake authorized the plowing of private streets during the winter, which one Village Council member alleges is a misappropriation of funds.

But Mayor Peggy Wells said the village will be reimbursed by the owner of the street.

The village street department plowed streets in an area known as the Carlin Addition four times and salted the roads once throughout the winter months, Councilwoman Arletta Ruton said.

The roads are owned by a housing developer Jerry Wright and his wife, Francheska.

Wells said the street department has estimated the snow removal cost to be about $55. Wright has agreed to pay the village and will do so next week.

Ruton received calls in January from two different residents who wanted to know why the village plowed Lakeview Drive, which is not owned by the village.

The streets were plowed for the first time Jan. 8 and again on Jan. 9. Ruton said she and other council members were not aware of the plowing in the addition prior to the calls from residents.

Ruton raised the issue at the Jan. 22 village council meeting. According to meeting minutes, Wells said she authorized the plowing. Wells, who was elected to her first term as mayor in November, called Wright after a snow fall and asked if he wanted the streets in his addition plowed and Wright said he did.

Ruton said she has heard from about 10 village residents who were not in favor of the village plowing the private streets.

Wright signed an agreement, obtained by The Advocate through a records request, not to hold the village responsible for any damage "caused by the village's voluntary ice and snow control/removal operations on the privately owned roadways and right-of-way in the Carlin Addition in the village of Buckeye Lake."

The agreement was signed Jan. 12 and was retroactive to Jan. 1, the agreement states. 

The agreement was not signed by any village official, including Wells. 

"According to the village charter, she really and truly can not enter into a contract without council's approval," Ruton said in an interview with The Advocate.

Wells said during the Jan. 22 meeting she authorized the private streets be plowed because the residents pay taxes and the village's emergency services need to have access in case someone calls for help, according to meeting minutes.

Ruton said Wells is responsible for paying back the cost of plowing the streets.

"You can not use village funds to plow somebody else's streets because that's basically misappropriation of funds," Ruton said.

According to the Ohio Village Officer's Handbook, which is issued by the Ohio Auditor's Office, "any officer, employee, or other person who unlawfully expends or authorizes the expenditure of public funds shall be personally liable for the full amount paid from those funds."

Ruton said the village has never plowed the streets before. The village has discussed taking over those streets, but Ruton said the streets would need to be brought up to code by the Wrights before that could happen.

"I know it's just a short area, but misappropriation of funds is misappropriation of funds regardless of the amount of money that's spent," she said.

mdevito@gannett.com

740-328-8513

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13