Clermont County Commissioners approved the most recent annexation petition from the village of Batavia Nov. 16, after Batavia Township Trustees opposed it several weeks ago.

“I think this is the wrong thing to do, but I understand it is required by law for us to pass it,” Commissioner Ed Humphrey said.

The annexation will bring approximately 286 acres of land into the village including several county offices and property owned by Glen Wiedenbein, who signed the petition.

Employees at the county offices, including the Clermont County Municipal Court, the sheriff’s office and the jail, are not able to protest the annexation because the property is government-owned. However, they will be required to pay village taxes.

“Obviously for our employees I am against the annexation,” Commissioner Humphrey said. “My concern is I think the law is inappropriate. It needs to be changed.”

Commissioners have already passed a similar annexation request to bring land into the village that included Clermont College. They are required to pass an annexation request if it meets seven conditions required by law.

Batavia Township Trustees were the first jurisdiction to look at the annexation, as the properties are also in the township.

While the annexation involving Clermont College was passed by both Batavia Township Trustees and Clermont County Commissioners, the second annexation was opposed twice by trustees before being approved by commissioners.

The first opposition came from an issue with the signature of the landowner. Glen Wiedenbein Jr., had signed the petition while Glen Wiedenbein Sr., was trustee of the land.

Village officials quickly corrected the issue and refiled the petition.

The second time around, Batavia Township Trustees hired Attorney John Korfhagen to help advise them on the legality of the petition. Korfhagen presented his findings to trustees and village officials at an Oct. 27 special meeting.

Korfhagen said he found a situation where the township has a right to object the petition on the issue of ownership.

He proceeded to detail revised section 1901.01 of the Ohio Revised Code, which he said grants unique permission to county commissioners, as the legislative authority for the municipal court, to determine the location of the court.

Trustees opposed the petition after hearing his presentation since there was a question about the ownership.

“You’re just giving Clermont County Commissioners the chance to resolve the issue,” Korfhagen said.

Trustees sent the petition to commissioners along with Korfhagen’s explanation. In addition, Michael Minniear, the attorney for agent for the petitioner, sent commissioners a response to the objection from trustees.

In the response, Minniear highlighted the seven conditions that must be met for the approval of an annexation. He also discussed the issue of ORC 1901.01 in relation to the sections of the law that explains that “any political subdivision of the state shall not be considered an owner and shall not be included in determining the number of owners needed to sign a petition.”

Minniear wrote: “Any discourse relating to RC 1901 and its applicability to this matter is clearly not relevant to the Board’s determination. RC 1901.01 is enabling legislation authorizing the establishment of municipal courts in enumerated municipal corporations.”

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney David Frey from the Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office looked over both Korfhagen’s and Minniear’s legal opinions for commissioners and presented his thoughts at commissioners’ Nov. 16 session.

“I considered both the objection and the response, then I issued an opinion” Frey said. “In a nutshell, the argument had to do with the effect the location outside the village has on the current annexation.”

After reading Frey’s confidential opinion, commissioners voted to pass the annexation as it met all seven conditions required by law.

“I felt confident all the way through,” Batavia Mayor John Thebout said about the petition. “I felt the offices need to be in the village.”

Mayor Thebout said the money that the village could collect because of the most recent annexation, as well as the Clermont College annexation, is an estimated $400,000 – money that he said can be used to make many improvements in the village.

“We’ve already started, we’ve already re-paved College Drive,” Mayor Thebout said.

Mayor Thebout said improvements to roads, infrastructure and businesses in the village are all in the future now that funds are available.

He said the next step is for village administrators and council members to determine exact numbers and develop a plan to prioritize improvements.

“I am not surprised by the outcome,” Mayor Thebout said. “Am I glad? Absolutely.”