Council reviews standard township-road agreement form for annexations to avoid repeated negotiations

Village council members reviewed a proposed standardized township-road maintenance agreement to use when annexations involve a shared township road. Staff said the form is intended to replace ad-hoc letters and to ensure the county commissioners receive a consistent packet when an annexation includes a shared road.

Staff explained the form would be completed and signed by the developer, township and village and submitted with the village's service-resolution materials to Franklin County for annexation approval. The form would include a legal/meet-and-bounds description of the road segment covered; staff noted the developer normally must supply the legal description and a survey. Council members discussed whether the developer's attorney should draft the agreement at the developer's expense and whether the village should insist on bonding or developer-funded maintenance for a multi-year period (examples discussed in the meeting included a developer maintaining a road for a stated period post-construction).

Staff said the standardized form emerged after prior annexation packets were delayed because a service resolution alone was insufficient for county review. The form is not yet final; staff said they had been in contact with township representatives and would want township concurrence before presenting the form as a resolution at a future council meeting. Staff suggested the village should not entertain annexations that include shared township roads until the agreements are standardized and agreed by the township, although council noted the historical option of using a letter agreement in the interim.

Council asked staff to finalize edits with township counsel, to make clear the form will require the developer's legal description and other attachments, and to present the agreed form as legislation (a resolution) at a future meeting so that subsequent annexations can use the template without repeated negotiations.