Oregon council procedurally advances proposed charter amendment

Council members in Oregon approved an ordinance during a special meeting on Aug. 17 to advance a proposed charter amendment to the November ballot, a formality.

“Really, the only part that's very significant for council is just to know that none of this has anything to do with your personal feelings about a data center, and voting doesn't have any effect as to whether you're for it or against it or anything else,” the city’s law director Chynna Fifer said.

The law says “council does not decide whether the proposed amendment is constitutional, preempted, sufficiently definite, enforceable, or lawful as applied to any person, property, permit, approval, contract, public utility facility, development, or project.” Thus, council does not adopt, reject, endorse, oppose, or make findings on the merits of the proposed data center prohibition.

“Voting on this is just part of Ohio's constitutional law as far as amending charters, (and it is) also in compliance with our own charter,” Fifer said. “And what was required of that was if it wasn't council bringing it on itself, it would be for citizens that did (an) initiative petition.”

The ordinance stems from a citizen-organized group gathering 1,684 signatures, verified by the Lucas County Board of Elections, which would limit the size of data centers in the city to 25 megawatts and make that change officially to the city’s charter.

Fifer stressed that this is just the process, and it is required by law that the city send this forward. It’s just a formality that she admits can be confusing.

“I would understand why people would be confused as to why it is an ordinance and why you have to vote on it if it is mandatory, but that is what is required by the Ohio Constitution,” she said.

Despite the call for a special meeting to vote on the matter and an explanation of the process from Fifer, council member Paul Gibbs then asked if council members were voting on the matter the night of the meeting.

After being told yes, he made the following statement.

“With this proposed amendment to the charter, (I ask) that we as sitting council members take very seriously what vested interest that we might have had or currently have in the development of the data center,” Gibbs said. “To clarify that, I will add that if any council member has already profited financially or stands to profit financially, from the development of a data center that they should abstain from voting on this item. I would like to add that just because something appears to be legal doesn't mean it is morally or ethically right.

“I have confidence the Ohio Ethics Commission is taking a more stringent look into what is taking place throughout our state, especially in smaller communities, and also the public officials that are making decisions that affect the residents in those communities.”

Fifer said that she assumed Gibbs was referring to Dennis Walendzak, who was not in attendance at the meeting.

“He is not present right now, so this should not be an issue,” she said. “But I will state that nothing in this is actually saying you are for or against or any part of voting for the data center. This is merely just a process that's required by law. So, in that regard, there would be no reason for anybody here tonight to abstain to it. It should be a vote, but Mr. Walendzak's not here, so that's going to be a non-issue. I can't fathom any other reason anyone would have a reason for an abstention that would be a valid reason.”

Council then voted 6-0 to approve the formality ordinance. It will now officially be in the hands of the voters this November.

Data center, social media posts highlight latest COTW meeting

Following the special meeting to advance the data center size limitation ballot initiative forward, Oregon city council members held the latest committee of the whole meeting on Aug. 17 inside the administration building.

The meeting opened with the resident portion, where Karen Egan started off by complimenting the city for the splash pad at the Oregon Rec Center.

Laura and Jim Davis then took their turn, with Laura Davis providing ideas for things she believes could be put at the data center site.

“I'm just asking you all to think creatively and not visualize industrial smokestacks and pollution,” she said. “We already have enough of that. I'm just asking you all to think outside the big gray humming box.”

Jim Davis, meanwhile, addressed what he called mischaracterizations with a resident’s comments last week comparing the glass facility in Luckey to the proposed data center.

PJ Kapfhammer asked for confirmation on what the rules are regarding members of council abstaining from votes. He said members of council can abstain, but only if he or she states the reason for abstaining, and that an abstention shouldn’t be counted as an affirmative nor a negative vote, but they have to answer why they are doing so.

The city’s law director, Chynna Fifer, agreed. She sent an email clarifying things to council members earlier in the day on Aug. 17.

“You’re right, you have to have a reason,” she said. “It has to be a valid reason, and if it's not something that's a conflict with legal consequences, it's going to be tallied in there as a no. I've asked them unless you have a legit valid reason to abstain, everyone should be voting. That is your duty as an elected official, and as far as I know have not received anything that anybody's having any kind of issue with it.”

Kapfhammer then asked mayor Steven Salander about the citizen’s advisory committee and how it was being put together.

Salander said he has had nine people already reach out, but he will be extending the deadline to request a spot on the committee to Aug. 31.

He said those interested should email ssalander@oregonohio.org and kwolfe@oregonohio.org with a brief statement of their background, an explanation as to how their expertise can benefit the committee and their phone number. He will then select 10-15 candidates to bring before council to either “concur, add or remove” individuals from the committee.

The committee will discuss the data center’s potential impact on the community and the pros and cons of it.

“For clarification, this committee is not being put together to convince others of anyone's position for or against the proposed project, but instead to advise and discuss if this project does move forward, how can we best make it fit with our Master Plan and community,” Salander said.

Ruth Price then took her turn, discussing the details of an investigation into a property called P&R Communications located at 4910 Wynnscape. She said it’s a garage in the Wynnscape development, and she said it’s a leading wireless communications company in Ohio specializing in mission-critical two-way radios, video surveillance, vehicle upfitting and emergency response systems as Motorola Elite service providers, and the city of Oregon patronizes them.

She said they originally had that property, but officials at the Lucas County Auditor’s Office are coming up with a date when it was transferred over to a business called Molly’s Ventures LTD, which she alleges has a mailing address that matches former mayor Mike Seferian’s home address.

“Mike Seferian was elected mayor in 2009, and Molly's Ventures was started in 2010,” she said. “It is a non-classified establishment … I would like to find out, which I am trying to do, who the people that have money in this Molly's Venture. It's very difficult to find that out. I'm going to confer with the attorney to see if they can find out that information.

“To me, it sounds like a conflict of interest, and I've been digging through it for weeks. I didn't get to it this last week because I had other things that I couldn't do it, but I think it's something we should really consider, think about and look into, and see who the people are that have money invested in Molly's Ventures LTD.”

Connie Trudell took the podium to say that she had reached out to officials in the city of Toledo asking if they had been approached about selling the property on Corduroy Road that they own for the construction of a data center, and she read their response, which said, “the land was purchased and will be used for a future construction of a water reservoir. The City of Toledo is under the direction and schedule of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in regard to this project.”

After the resident portion, council member Kathy Pollauf said that after her comments at the previous week’s council meeting, she has been fielding a lot of calls from people who don’t feel like they’re being heard. She presented a list of questions to Salander.

Later in the meeting, Salander presented a lengthy statement during his mayor’s report urging everyone to be careful what they say, especially on social media, as it could affect any or all citizens within the city, including businesses.

“What we say, how we act, how we respond, our attitudes, our voices, the emotions behind them,” he said, “they're not just being seen by the person who you're commenting to. They're not just being seen by a group of people that you agree or don't agree with. Our responses are going out to not just the city of Oregon even, but our entire region and perhaps even further. I know it's been said many, many times that there are businesses that will watch our groups and our social media, and they do. I don't know, but if I were a business owner and I was looking to bring my multi-billion-dollar business, I would really question when I see the way some people respond and the way some people comment and the names and everything else. It would really make me question. Let's just be aware of that as city leaders, that we are getting more than just the people up here and the people out there that are seeing how we are responding and they're paying attention.”

Salander said he has met numerous times this year with board members of the OEDF regarding concerns, issues, wants and desires. He said there’s a “laundry list of reasons” he hasn’t discussed those negotiations publicly, but he did state one reason.

“I've had at least two businesses that have approached me saying that they had reached out to OEDF and wanted to talk about bringing their businesses to Oregon, and they were brushed off. When we're also asked, what am I doing? What are we doing for revenue and for jobs? Well, that's not doing so good for us. One of those companies, by the way, is an existing multi-billion-dollar global company that wants to expand in Ohio and has told me, ‘We will come to Lucas County.’ We had a chance and OEDF brushed them off. The director brushed them off. That isn't how you promote growth. That's how you hinder growth. Those businesses are just one additional [source of] revenue and local union jobs that could have been potentially created.”

Salander said that he did refer that business to the city administrator, Brody Walters.

“Every opportunity deserves to be explored,” Salander said. “I have spoken to those business owners, and I'm concerned that there could be other businesses that I just don't know about that were brushed off by the director of OEDF.”

He also made a statement about the other members of the OEDF and its investors.

“I do also want to mention there are many outstanding business members of our community that are investors in OEDF, and I have nothing but respect for them, and I'm sure most of them are unaware of the current situation with OEDF's leadership,” he said. “I do not have an issue with a single one of those investors, and I'm happy to work together, with or without OEDF, in being sure Oregon prospers and has responsible growth.”

Salander closed his statement with thoughts about Isaiah 117 House’s official ribbon cutting in Oregon recently.

“It is so much more than just a simple structure,” he said. “It truly is a home where the red door that symbolizes being welcomed opens up to love and action. Just walking through that door, you can feel it. I can tell you. This is the first Isaiah House in the state of Ohio, and we can be proud of that being located in our community of Oregon. I won't go into all the background of how it got there and everything, but a team of people with love in their hearts made this a reality, and I am extremely grateful that they chose to do this in Oregon.

“And also, let's not forget the St. Jude Dream House giveaway, where money was raised to benefit kids and families as they walk what may be their most challenging time in their lives. We can be very proud that they chose Oregon for that location.”

Council member David Andrus then concluded things by following up on Salander’s statements.

“I'd like to add on to what Mayor Salander just said here with regards to negativity,” he said. “I will say that I am very proud that I am not on social media, nor will I ever be on social media. I believe in dealing with people face-to-face, and it's amazing how things melt when you actually go out and meet people who may have a different opinion than you have, and you realize that they're people, too, and you develop respect for them. We need to have respect for each other in this discussion. Again, you'll never see me on social media.”