As far as I am concerned, it is not good new for the city-- or for residents, who overwhelming approved amending the city Charter to protect the park from gas wells.
The Court of Appeals ruled: 1) that council’s attempt to rescind the mayor’s authority to enter into drilling leases with Bass was an invalid impairment of Bass’s contract rights; 2) that Bass could force the city to arbitrate the dispute (arbitration does not use judges and does not require the same quality or level of proof as used in courts); and 3) the arbitrator, rather than a judge, should make factual findings regarding the validity and enforceability of the lease that Mayor Coleman signed.
Significantly, among the facts cited by the appeals court in support of its ruling:
- The fact that Andy Blackley, the former City Engineer, chose the drilling sites for Bass and developed site drilling maps, which Bass used to obtain drilling permits from the state.
- The fact that Finance Director Tony Ianiro accepted and cashed a “delayed start” payment from Bass several months after council passed its resolution rescinding the mayor’s lease-signing authority.
- The fact that City Law Director Tim Paluf used the same boilerplate “emergency measure” language (which states that the resolution is being passed as an "emergency measure necessary to the immediate preservation of the health, safety and welfare" of residents) in both the original and rescinding resolutions, which the court said undermined the city’s claim that it rescinded the lease due to safety concerns following the Bainbridge house explosion.
- On January 23, 2007, council passed a resolution authorizing Mayor Coleman to enter into two leases with Bass Energy---one to drill two wells in the city park and one to drill one well on the city hall property.
Section 2 states that the resolution is “contingent upon approval of the three (well) sites by the City of Highland Heights ....” In other words, the mayor was authorized to sign the leases if, and only after, the city formally approved of three drilling sites. By adding this language, council clearly intended to be actively included and involved in determining whether, and where, gas wells would be drilled on city property. - Mayor Coleman signed a gas drilling lease for the park on March 7, 2007-- even though the council had not discussed, let alone, approved of, any wells sites for either the park or the city hall complex. In fact council minutes show that neither Mayor Coleman nor any of his administrative staff ever disclosed or discussed any proposed well sites with council until several months after Bass obtained drilling permits from the state. Council was kept in the dark.
- Bass’s president, William J. Hlavin, said that Law Director Tim Paluf was his key contact for the drilling project and that he (Hlavin) never discussed potential drilling sites with council.
- In late March 2007, Bass was invited to attend a pre-construction meeting for the park (for the project involving installation of the new parking lot in the city park). Hlavin said that the hope was, “that all the construction traffic and everything to do with the construction (in the park) would mask any of the drilling that was going on.”
- Former City Engineer Andy Blackley agreed to work for Bass while he was also, in his official capacity, representing the city’s interests with regard to the drilling project. Blackley selected two well-sites for Bass and also developed site maps, for inclusion in Bass's state drilling permit application. Blackley's firm, Steven Hovenscek & Associates, issued the site maps on April 20, 2007. Bass owns those maps.
- Bass deposited $2,000 with the city to pay for Blackley’s work—although city financial records in 2009 indicated that this amount wasn't enough to cover all of Blackley's work for Bass. Finance Director Tony Ianiro later admitted at a January 13, 2009 Legislative & Finance Committee meeting that this financial arrangement was “unique” and that the work that Blackley performed for Bass was not performed in connection with any city permit application.
- One of Blackley’s chosen well sites impinges on constitutionally-protected green space in the park--land that was purchased using ODNR grant money. Although Blackley gave regular reports to council during bi-weekly council meetings, the official minutes show that Blackley never disclosed his business arrangement with Bass to council, he did not tell council that he had selected well sites for Bass, and he did not show council a copy of the site map that his firm gave to Bass until November 2007—four months after the state issued drilling permits for those sites (on July 27, 2007).
- After investigating and learning the truth about how the drilling site selection had been handled (and how it had been apparently been intentionally kept in the dark) Council passed a resolution on January 22, 2008 rescinding Mayor Coleman's authority to contract with Bass. Law Director Tim Paluf drafted that resolution and included the same emergency measure language that he used in the original authorizing resolution--which the court appeals noted and found significant in ruling against the city.
Mayor Coleman was itching to drill, and he did all he could to get the gas wells drilled in the park before council---and residents---got wind of them.
According to Hlavin, it was Mayor Coleman who decided that the wells should be drilled “out of the way”, not near the developed areas of the park--which is what apparently led Blackley to choose the ODNR land and land deep in the woods as well sites for Bass..
Do you suppose Mayor Coleman was thinking---Out of sight, out of mind?
Highland Heights Ordinance 733.20 states:
Regardless of whether an appropriate permit has been obtained from the Chief of the Division of Oil and Gas of the State Department of Natural Resources, pursuant to Ohio R.C. Chapter 1509 and/or Building Commissioner pursuant to this chapter, no person, firm or corporation shall:"No one"---Shouldn't that include Mayor Coleman and former City Engineer Blackley?
(d) Drill a gas or oil well within 500 feet of a …public park …
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