A race between candidates for St. Albans Township trustees is heating up, with three candidates vying for two seats.
Of the three running, one candidate – Bruce Lane – is the incumbent, and is running not to hold onto his seat, but to support the proposed St. Albans Township-Alexandria merger, also on the ballot for village and township residents.
He’s facing Tad VanNess and Mike Washington, two political newcomers and longtime township residents who oppose the merger.
Bruce Lane
Almost ten years into serving as a St. Albans Township trustee, incumbent candidate Bruce Lane hopes that he is not re-elected. Not because he’s quitting, but because he wants the position to no longer be necessary.
Lane’s campaign hinges on one thing: passing the merger between St. Albans Township and the Village of Alexandria. But if this merger passes, his position as trustee would be obsolete and his former duties would become the responsibility of the combined Village of Alexandria.
The last merger in Ohio was in 1996 between the Village of Pataskala and Lima Township, which formed the current City of Pataskala.
Over the past 3.5 years, Lane has individually investigated the nuances of the proposed merger. He feels that in order to keep the rural character of the township, a merger is necessary in the face of development.
Lane worries that the township, without a merger, would be overrun by mass housing plots or taken advantage of by land, water and sewer developers. As a general contractor, Lane has noticed the familiar sight of preparation for development extending across the county. Since it requires millions in investments and years of planning to build sewage infrastructure, those plans are already in progress, he said.
“If we go $80 million for sewer, plus the minimum of $120 million for the initial set of piping, we’re going to be begging for development to pay the debt,” Lane said.
The most important thing, Lane said, is to be proactive. He encourages residents to attend more township meetings and understand what they’re voting for.
“We need people to get involved. We need people to be on the zoning boards, etc. It’s a democracy. It’s your government,” Lane said.
Lane said he wants residents to vote for the merger, not for him.
“It’s going to be a tough ride. I don’t care who’s in charge. The next few years are going to determine the destiny of this township,” Lane said. “If we don’t get it right, most of us aren’t going to want to live here.”
Tad VanNess
Having grown up in St. Albans Township, Tad VanNess cares deeply about preserving the township as he knows it: A place that is full of rural charm, firm in its values and connected to its neighbors.
“Part of our goal is, as trustees, to fuse this community back together as a whole,” VanNess said.
As a farmer and contractor in the area, VanNess plans to apply his experience to the current challenges facing the township. VanNess is running alongside Mike Washington, and their campaign rests on maintaining the township’s control over incoming development.
“We’re both in a position where we can finally give back,” VanNess said.
While the township trustees have done a great job in the past, VanNess said, he thinks that the role and responsibilities have significantly changed in the post-Intel surge of development.
“I think our goal within 120 days is to try to reach out to each and every one of our neighboring communities and get great agreements put in place to stop this,” VanNess said. “I firmly believe that most of our communities all want the same thing.”
He began attending meetings about the possible merger between St. Albans Township and the Village of Alexandria in the summer of 2024, but soon became concerned about the township’s financial stability and ability to fight off development if the merger passed.
Amid debates over the merger, VanNess is confident that trustees will be able to control growth via the new zoning resolution, comprehensive plan, JEDDs (Joint Economic Development Districts) and TIFs (Tax Increment Financing).
“We’re in a great position as a township, as far as being able to manage, control and defer these developers,” VanNess said. “They have a tendency to want to come into these communities that are a little behind the times and just run over us. Well, they’re not going to run over us.”
Mike Washington
One of the first things Mike Washington did after moving to St. Albans Township nine years ago was join the St. Albans Township Zoning Commission.
And over the years, he’s seen a real shift in growth around western Licking County, particularly in the wake of the 2022 announcement that Intel would be constructing a multi-billion dollar chip manufacturing facility just down the road from St. Albans.
The increased pressure from development, he said, is part of why he decided to run for township trustee alongside Tad VanNess.
Washington wants to get more involved in the community and find a way to stabilize the township’s finances.
“I saw a significant shortcoming in how the township trustees have been guiding the township’s direction when it comes to using the tools that are available to us, implementing those tools and engaging the community, and making sure we’re in the right place to manage the growth that’s coming this way,” Washington said. “And if we don’t want the growth where it’s at, then we need to be able to stop that and manage it.”
Washington is concerned that the Village of Alexandria is inadequately prepared to manage the finances of the township. One concern raised by residents is that if the proposed merger is approved by voters, all residents of the newly expanded village will pay a 1% municipal income tax on earned income. This will handcuff the community, he said.
“If you build infrastructure that needs 2% and you only give it 1%, you have a problem,” Washington said. “We just don’t feel that the additional earned income tax is worth it to the township when it comes to how the village likes to manage things.”
Washington plans to attend Ohio Township Association training meetings to understand how to implement strategies which preserve the township, managing growth and leveraging control.
“I’ve got a skill set when it comes to understanding financials, people, contracts, agreements, negotiations, that we’re going to need as the development pressures and growth pressures push up against us, and I think that’s been a little bit of a shortcoming that this township’s had,” Washington said.
Election Day is Nov. 4. Early voting is available at the election board office. Here are the hours:
Wednesday, Oct. 29 through Friday, Oct. 31: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 1: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 2: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Mia Fischel writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.