TOLEDO, Ohio — Two members of Toledo City Council are calling on utility companies to pay taxpayers back after the city footed a nearly $1 million bill to move Buckeye Broadband lines for the Summit Street reconstruction project.
Nick Komives and Rob Ludeman are planning to meet on Wednesday to write up legislation asking any utility that didn't pay to move its own lines to repay the city.
Komives says he wants to get the city's legal department involved.
The decision by the city to pick up the costs to move Buckeye Broadband's utilities by using taxpayer dollars is now being investigated by the FBI.
Ludeman said he spoke with an FBI agent about the project, specifically about taxpayers funding utility relocations. Ludeman also says he asked the city for answers regarding paying for utilities to move lines or equipment, but never received any.
Toledo city leaders acknowledged the investigation, stating that while the decision may be "unpopular among some people, it does not mean it was unlawful or inappropriate."
The city says it is "happily providing information" to the FBI during the investigation.
RELATED: A new look for downtown: Toledo chamber releases plan for $7.5M Summit Street reconstruction
The Summit Street project, which includes replacement of a water main, is estimated to cost $10.55 million as the city will reconstruct the stretch of Summit Street from Lafayette to Jackson.
The plan is part of the development for the Solheim Cup - one of the top women’s sporting events in the world - which comes to the Inverness Club this year.
BACKGROUND
Ludeman said he spoke with an FBI agent about the project, specifically about taxpayers funding utility relocations. Ludeman also says he asked the city for answers regarding paying for utilities to move lines or equipment, but never received any.
Toledo Municipal Code 945.10 says every owner of facilities in the right of way shall remove or relocate facilities at their own expense when the city determines it's necessary for the following reasons:
- The need to construct, repair, maintain, improve or use the right of way or public property
- The need to locate, construct, replace, maintain, improve or use any other city property
- The efficient performance of city operations
That section also makes an exception, saying no permit holder shall, without reasonable compensation, be required by the city to relocate, change, support, hold or alter the position of any facility for a non-transportation-related aesthetic improvement.
In emails obtained by WTOL 11, city Auditor Jake Jaksetic also asked about the city's decision and brought it up with Law Director Dale Emch.
In July 2020, Emch provided him with an answer:
"I made the legal decision pursuant to Toledo Municipal Code 945.10(b)(4) that the city should bear the utility relocation cost for this aesthetic improvement to Summit Street," Emch said in the email. "A basic tenant of legal interpretation is to give words their plain meaning. The dictionary defines 'aesthetic' as 'relating to or dealing with aesthetics or the beautiful.'
"Given that Summit Street was resurfaced approximately two years ago, the project would not have occurred absent a desire to make the area more attractive. That the city is taking advantage of the opportunity to complete additional work under the road does not change the primary reason for pursuing the project."
The $10.55 million Summit Street project has been described by city officials as both a necessary infrastructure improvement and an aesthetic upgrade ahead of Toledo hosting the 2021 Solheim Cup. At its inception in 2019, the plan was pegged to cost $7.5 million.
The city of Toledo says it is working to fulfill multiple public records requests related to the city's decision to pay Buckeye's costs.
The city did issue a statement regarding the Summit Street project on May 20:
“We are really proud of the work going on at Summit Street, which will transform that part of downtown and get us ready for an international sporting event coming to Toledo this year, and if there are any questions, we will of course answer those fully with the appropriate authorities."
On May 20, Komives told WTOL 11 the city paid $972,000 to have the work done. That figure was later confirmed by city documents provided to WTOL 11.
Ludeman said he asked the administration how much it would cost the city to move the utilities, what the cost would be to others and if any 2 percent utility funds would be utilized.
"I never got an answer to this referral," Ludeman said.
Komives declined to discuss the FBI's involvement, but did say he disagrees with the decision to pick up Buckeye's tab.
"I believe it’s their responsibility to pay us, and I think they should pay us," Komives said. "And the way to make that happen would be to have the law director of this city enforce the laws and fight for our tax dollars."
Columbia Gas and Toledo Edison companies also had lines removed and replaced during the project but according to Komives those companies paid to have their lines removed. We do not know yet if they were offered to be reimbursed for the expense yet by the city.
We have reached out to Toledo Edison and Columbia Gas for comment. We also asked if the city offered to cover their expenses for the project.
On May 21, Columbia Gas responded with a statement, saying, "the Summit Street Project is a City Project. We have no comment at this time."
In 2019, the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce released sketches of a "signature roadway in the central business district" that was to include a brand new road and an improved pedestrian experience with "new sidewalks, street trees, furniture, landscaping, and more."
Buckeye Broadband is owned by Block Communications Inc. Keith Wilkowski, vice president of legal and government affairs for BCI, confirmed in a statement to WTOL that the city paid to relocate Buckeye's fiber-optic lines.
"In 2020, Buckeye Broadband, a Block Communications company, was required to relocate its fiber-optic communications lines underneath Summit Street because the city of Toledo was undertaking a streetscape beautification project in advance of the 2021 Solheim Cup golf tournament," Wilkowski said.
"After a thorough review, we concluded that the obligation to pay the cost of the relocation was rightly that of the city of Toledo, not the companies whose lines were being impacted.
"We were prepared to have a court decide, but the question became moot when the city agreed with us. We were and remain confident in the correctness of our position. We look forward to cooperating in any investigation of this matter and will have no further comment until the investigation is concluded."