The ownership of the new road constructed at the southern end of the Warren Local School campus is being disputed by the Barlow Township trustees.

Barlow Township trustees passed a resolution this week to have the Warren Local School District take ownership of the new road built south of the school campus.

Two of the trustees met Thursday morning with the Washington County Commissioners to discuss their resolution, which was signed on Monday.

The resolution states that “this would let Warren name their own road, control traffic flow, modify, extend the road and make changes, and maintain, as they see fit.”

“That’s all this is at the present is a school driveway and a private right of way for two residences beyond the school there,” said Barlow Township Trustee John Hannan.

He said it was 650 feet of road with a hammerhead turn around. Hannan said he believes the plan is to eventually have the turn around made into another road to a strip mall “or something of that nature.”

He said they’ve always worked with the school district, but putting the road on the township isn’t right.

“To put this road on the township, with the people already paying the pretty darn good tax to build a new school out there, and now they’re asking to maintain the road in to the school,” Hannan explained. “If at some point in the future that road needs rebuilt, it’s got seven inches of asphalt and that would tear our budget up to do that road.”

Trustee Richard Best agreed.

“That is nothing more than a driveway for the school,” Best said. “It was not there. It was not paved or stoned or anything until we got the school levy. If you go out there and look, it turns right into the school parking lot. This belongs to the school. That’s how we see it.”

After the trustee meeting, Washington County Engineer Roger Wright explained to the commissioners why the road had to be labeled a township road. He said a traffic impact study done before the school project began indicated a road needed to be built.

“There we were, we did a traffic impact study. The traffic impact study indicated several scenarios as options to alleviate traffic,” Wright said. “One of the options was to take what Warren Local was already going to spend on a private drive upgrade for a construction entrance.”

He said if they used state funds and added to it, Warren Local would supplement it with what they were already going to use to build. That would allow the traffic to flow and fix the traffic issues, he noted.

“It fell in line with the traffic impact study. Warren Local already had money in the estimate for a construction entrance that they were just going to tear back out,” he added. “We utilized the entrance money and supplemented with a little state money to create a public road.”

He said you can’t put state money on private property.

“Well then, that changes everything,” said Commission President Ron Feathers. “That decision was already made before we even knew it.”

When Wright replied it had to be made into a public road to use state funding, Feathers said the only way to get around it was if Warren Local paid back the state money.

“I was really shocked that the trustees aren’t for economic development,” Wright added. “However, that’s their position.”

He said the county was taking over Mary Avenue, which was a township road. They took away a road that was next to a township building that is about the same length as the new road.

“Mary Avenue was full of potholes and horrible,” Wright said. “We tore it completely down to the ground and built it up completely. In return, they got a road that was basically built by ODOT standards and ODOT specs, doesn’t have any sort of base issues, has been used for construction trucks and great big heavy construction trucks and has zero deficiencies. Yet they are still upset.”

He noted by Ohio Revised Code, as the road dead ends, it couldn’t be turned into a county road.

Kyle Newton, Warren Local School superintendent, was unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon.

In other commission news:

Flite Freimann, director of Washington County Job and Family Services, presented a loan agreement with Peoples Bank for renovations to the Davis Avenue facilities. When Freimann first brought the agreement before the commission before the pandemic, the interest rate was 2.9 percent for the 20-year loan. When presented on Thursday, the interest rate had lowered to 2.76 percent for the $500,000 loan.

Commissioners signed a notice to proceed for the Grandview Volunteer Fire Department to purchase Lion turnout gear from a $14,868 Community Development Block Grant.

A contract with the Village of Brookside in Belmont County went before the board for signatures by Chris Wilson, building official with the Southeast Ohio Building Department. He said village officials reached out to his office to handle their school projects.