As a lifelong resident of St. Albans Township and Alexandria, mother to three children, and current steward of my family’s 7-generation homestead (dating back to its purchase in 1892), I am passionately voting YES for the merge of St. Albans Township and Alexandria.

With the visible growing threat of outside characters and companies (i.e., Jersey Township leaders, New Albany Company, Licking Regional Water District, and others) who seek to source and control our community’s natural resources and cause detrimental consequences to the land and water through legal means, it is of utmost importance we fortify the walls of our community to protect our physical health, well-being, and the serene rural landscape that holds soulful meaning to us.

For the reasons mentioned, including the prevention of a sewage treatment plant on the runs and creeks our children play in, I am voting YES for the merge of St. Albans Township and the Village of Alexandria!

—Allison Riggs

I am a relative newcomer to St Albans’ Township living here for 36 years with my family. For years, Watkins Road was a gravel road, and we were on a first name basis with the potholes, knowing where to swerve left and weave right to avoid them. Only locals were brave enough to drive Watkins Road! I could exercise, train and track my dogs off-leash confident they would not be hit by vehicles since no one dare drive faster than a walking pace!

I have lived in rural areas most of my life in Illinois and Ohio. The little time spent in urban areas was more than enough for me. I would rather be kept awake at night with tractors harvesting crops than urban noises of screaming kids and barking dogs (I like kids and dogs, don’t get me wrong!), frequent sirens, light pollution, endless noise. My family comes from a long line of independent, self-reliant folk with strong opinions. We tend not to like lots of regulations and rules. We like it here in rural St Albans township!

I have been reading up on the St Albans/Alexandria merger information. We may be a small chunk of population compared to the larger Columbus metro area, but that isn’t going to last a whole lot longer! Suburbanization is aiming right for us – like it or not.

When living in Cook County, Illinois, we lived in a rural setting. Crop farms and thoroughbred farms for Arlington Racetrack back when it was a small-scale venue. There was an abandoned gravel pit with clear, pristine lakes for swimming and fishing. We set up targets for rifle and bow and arrow practice. Life was perfect! So perfect that when the developers emerged, no one took serious notice of them. One parcel of land, one small farm – little by little ownership changed nearby. Township trustees and zoning committees changed personnel. Everyone was too busy to think deeply about the local elections. Life had been good. It would always be good.

When a neighbor discovered one of the horse farms had sold and a potential change of zoning from agricultural to dense residential was at their property border, they fought by hiring attorneys and talking with neighbors. It wasn’t an immediate danger for others, so people wished them the best. “It’s too bad this is happening to you. We wished we could do something.” If memory serves me correctly, they were reassured there would be some evergreens planted along the boundary to protect them. Sound familiar?

Today, the area is sprawl and a suburb of Chicago.  Chicagoland! Apartments, housing developments, stores, concrete, asphalt, 4-6 lane roads. That gravel pit? Long gone with tiny yards and houses replacing it.

Our family moved – further out to Lake County and the quaint town of Long Grove. Residents of Long Grove knew Chicago sprawl was aiming for them. It was inevitable. The farmers would come under pressure; landowners would see dollar signs and a comfy wealth for generations to come. Who can blame them?

Long Grove prospered and it continues to prosper because of foresight of the residents. They understood they were living on a gold mine. Instead of ‘every person for themselves’, they worked together (and it wasn’t easy!), to ensure people could profit and sell their land while still insuring a rural atmosphere. Is it agricultural today? Not much. It wasn’t going to be agricultural whatever residents did. Residents understood that growth was going to happen – no matter what - but with planning, the area is beautiful. Lots of green spaces, zoning of 3, 2 and 1 acres. Landowners did well financially. They did prosper. Landowners continue to prosper because people want to live in Long Grove!

Property owners in St Albans and Alexandria are living on gold mines, too. This is fact! We only need to look several miles to our west to understand there are big winners but there are losers, too. The people who did not sell their homes are surrounded by warehouses, construction, and ever widening roads and traffic. Those homeowners are not likely to get those big bucks. Developers know this. No family wants to buy their houses and developers may or may not offer top dollar. They don’t need to. Those people are stuck.

I wish everyone in our area to live the way they want to and be prosperous. Are we going to be farming our land in 20-30 years? Honestly? You know what the answer is.

So – are we going to work together – strength in numbers? Plan for the inevitable? Would you rather live in an area with houses on acreage – any amount we all decide? Or do you want to gamble that you will luck out and not have a warehouse or strip mall nearby? Sprawl can happen! Neighborliness evaporates real fast when it comes to the almighty dollar!

And the cost of living? It’s going up, people! Whatever we do, it is going to increase.

Alexandria has tons of potential to be a go-to town. The township land is gorgeous. Rolling hills, rivers, lakes, creeks, green space as far as we can see. The future is on our shoulders. Think real hard – for yourselves and the kind of life you want for the future because each of our votes will determine whether it is planned by and for the residents or a free-for-all for big money.

Me? I would be delighted for Watkins Road to be a pot-holed gravel road again rather than the racecourse it has become! That won’t happen so eyes wide open, we plan for the future. Vote yes? Vote no? I think I will trust a committee of residents and my neighbors more than I will trust unknown speculators.  As much as I like freedom to do what what we like, there are times when wise regulations serve to protect rather than limit.

-- Joan Andreasan-Webb

Resident, St. Albans Township

As a lifelong Township resident and current Village Zoning Inspector, I want to share why I support the proposed merger between our village and township.  My top priorities are:

• Protecting the Raccoon Creek watershed and clean water resources

• Preserving our community’s rural character

First, water control is vital—forever in the human experience, development always flows out from water. Our merger decision may directly determine whether our surface and ground reserves of water continue to support local agri-business and the wells in our community, or are negatively affected by the need to feed development like data centers. With rapid growth in nearby tech corridors, outside water sewer districts are looking to expand here and they will absolutely bring their own development agendas.

Information from meetings I’ve attended points out the Ohio EPA may be waiting on our local merger vote to finalize their next round of water service provider boundaries in Central Ohio. I’ve reviewed the proposed Johnstown-Alexandria-Granville water sewer district plan, and it’s a thoughtful 20+ year plan that supports organic growth and costs for our community along our natural geographic water supply of Raccoon Creek. Like it or not, without a merger, we can expect outside water sewer districts to mobilize their development plans quickly into the State Route 37/161/310 corridor of the township. Can anything but a merger stop this? I have concluded no.

Second, both sides of this debate agree that our rural character must be preserved, so don’t be divided on this point! The question is how best to protect that character. A merged municipality under Ohio’s “Home Rule” gives us stronger legal tools to resist outside pressures, manage infrastructure, and plan for responsible growth on our own terms. It would also create a single elected body for the entire community, instead of two separate bodies trying to accomplish the same things separately—that makes it easier for all of us to stay engaged with our local officials.

The kicker for me is the village's recently received $65,000 grant award for updated comprehensive planning. This is a rare chance for us all to engage in planning for future land use in a newly combined village and township. The timing could not be better for this!

Honestly, two years ago -- before I began regularly attending local meetings (first township, then village) -- I would not have favored a merger as a township resident. However, after listening to a lot of genuine discussions on how to protect our community in these rapid changing times, I have determined that a YES vote for the merger is the bold move we need to stay ahead of the curve on behalf of our community.

All the best and stay engaged!

-- J. Jacob Brooks

Northridge Class of 2000

Jersey Mill Road resident