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Trustee claims colleague sabotaged deal
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - November 12, 2009)
Trustee claims colleague sabotaged deal
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Burton Township Trustee Lou Mucci has questioned whether a deal for two acres was held up through the efforts of a fellow trustee.
Mr. Mucci said it appears that Trustee Jim Dvorak ran interference as they tried for almost two years to close the deal on the two acres needed for expansion of Slitor Cemetery.
"Jim was in no hurry to get that deal done," Mr. Mucci said.
But, Mr. Dvorak said, he worked just as hard as the other trustees to get the deal done, and that the complicated deal was the reason for the hold-up, not anything he had done.
"We knew it was going to be a long process no matter what," he said.
Mr. Mucci said evidence that something was amiss began when Mr. Dvorak first ran for the trustee seat two years ago. Mr. Dvorak campaigned against the purchase, saying the $40,000 trustees paid for the property was too much.
According to Mr. Mucci, Mr. Dvorak said he wanted to see comparable property values to determine whether a fair price was paid. However, he said the Geauga County Prosecutor's Office pointed out that it would be extremely difficult to gauge what the asking price would be for a similar piece of land because there were few examples of land adjacent to cemeteries that had been sold.
Mr. Dvorak said he did not campaign against the purchase, but did question the price. He said he had a fiduciary obligation to ensure the township's money was properly spent. "I had a fiduciary responsibility to question the purchase," he said.
Mr. Mucci said it was not the current board that started the idea of adding land to Slitor Cemetery. "The township has known for a long time it wanted to widen the frontage on Route 700 (Claridon-Troy Road)," Mr. Mucci said. "Successive boards before me were trying to get that land."
Mr. Mucci said, although it seemed Mr. Dvorak tried to create roadblocks over the last couple of years, he always voted to proceed with the project. He said Mr. Dvorak had ample time to state his opposition to the project, but instead continued to give the appearance of support.
He said Mr. Dvorak's push for the township to use First American Title, instead of the more often used Lawyer's Title, only brought the township more headaches. "It seemed they offered more interference than trying to get the deal done," he said. "It always seemed to be something coming up that seemed to be a major problem."
He said one of the major holdups was easements for a gas well on adjacent property. He said that only made him scratch his head, because the township already owned property at the cemetery that had those easements on them.
He said the final straw was when the title company asked to be released from liability if the deal fell through. It was at that time that the board by a 2-1 vote switched to Lawyer's Title, which wrapped up the deal within a month and even eliminated the easements existing on the land the township previously bought.
Mr. Dvorak disputed that he pushed for a particular title company in the deal. Quotes taken by the township showed that First American was the lower bidder by $30. And, he said, the trustees and seller all agreed to that title company.
He said it was not the title company, but the issues surrounding the purchase that slowed it.
Mr. Dvorak said there were three issues revolving around the adjacent gas well and easements for transmission lines.
"It wouldn't have mattered if we had one or two companies, the process would have moved slowly to complete this deal," he said. "We knew it was going to be a long process no matter what."
Mr. Dvorak said Mr. Mucci pushed for money for the purchase to be released to the seller before the gas well and easement issues were resolved. But, he said, the Geauga County Prosecutor's Office advised the township against the early release of the money. "They said don't let the money go until you get a clear title," he said.
Mr. Dvorak said he voted against changing title companies because everything was proceeding as it should and there was no need to change.
He said his only interest was to make sure there was no exposure to Burton Township on the land it was purchasing. That, he said, was only guaranteed after receiving a clear title for the property.
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