Joe Drennan
Staff WriterTom Hefty was elected to the Columbus Township Town Board on the stance that he was against the proposed racino in the freeway district.
During the April 14 town board meeting, Heftyís predecessor Pat Preiner presented the board with a letter claiming Hefty was actively participating in the solicitation of signatures against the proposed racino and that he would be holding two forums for residents to voice their opinions about the racino and sign a petition against it.
In her letter, Preiner asked if this kind of behavior by a board member was appropriate. Preiner also raised their issue of property rights for owners in the freeway district asking, ìdoesnít a person have the right to solicit and sell your property to whomever the property owner wants, without having board members undermine the sale.î
Town Attorney Bill Griffith said it is common to have meetings with constituents, but the board member has to make it clear they are not acting as a board member, but there to solicit input from constituents and get opinions on different issues.
ìThere is no law against meeting with constituents,î Griffith said, ìbut as far as keeping the decision process impartial, the best way for a constituent to do that is to come to the town hall for public meetings and give their input that way so that it is on public record.î
Hefty said he had no connection to any possible petition that may be circulating that was against the racino and stated he did not schedule the forums and he did not plan on attending them.
ìI ran for this position for a couple of reasons,î Hefty said, ìone of them was that I opposed the racetrack and I had over 400 constituents call my home opposing it as well.î
Chairman Mel Mettler posed the question that if Hefty is so adamately against the racino, what should the board do about that?
Griffith said it is one thing to run with a specific stance and to stick with it. He said if the board thinks that is so impartial about the issue of the racino they can request he step down for any votes that regard it, but that could be discussed at a different time.
Supervisor Renae Fry said she heard about the petition from a constituent who told her it was passed around a school PTO meeting. What bothered Fry most about the petition was that a majority of the information presented was wrong.
ìI got a phone call from one women who complained about the crime, traffic and noise the racetrack would bring in after she read the information on the petition,î Fry said.
ìIf she had been privy to any of the information that has been made public at the town hall, she would know the truth about all those topics. How do I respond to something like that when it is obvious that the person does not have a fraction of the information needed to make a judgment on the issue.î
ìI came in to this in the eighth inning,î Hefty said. ìI feel this is an unusual situation and there is a lot of information that people donít understand.î Hefty asked if there was some way the township could have a gathering to inform the people.
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