NORTON: Taking only about 10 minutes of a special meeting, Norton City Council rejected a date for a special election to consider an amendment to the city charter.
The date proposed was Nov. 18, but the council rejected the ordinance by a 5-2 vote Monday.
Passage would have placed an amendment on a special ballot seeking to limit any Norton resident from paying more than $5,000 for the construction of and connection to water and/or sewer lines. The city would pay any amount greater than $5,000.
Although voters rejected a similar charter amendment in August, petitions were filed with the Summit County Board of Elections to place the issue on a ballot once again. The most significant change was the addition of the $5,000 fee cap for residents.
Council members Charlotte Whipkey and Bill Mowery voted in favor of the date. Don Nicolard, Scott Pelot, Todd Bergstrom, John Conklin and Dennis McGlone voted in opposition.
A vote of 5-2 in favor was required to accept the date.
A special election so soon after the general election on Nov. 5 would cost the city an estimated $40,000, about four times the usual cost.
If the special election were held in February, the cost would be more in the $12,000 range, council clerk Karla Richards said. She said she checked figures with the elections board.
The issue had come about because the Ohio EPA has determined that septic systems in the Nash Heights neighborhood of the city had been found to be unsanitary. The agency ordered the city to install sanitary sewers and waterlines within that area.
Failure to do so could result in a substantial fine to the city.