The picture above is a 5.5 Million Gallon open lagoon of animal and human waste sludge in our backyard.

We, the Citizens of Bath Township and the City of Fairborn, call for the immediate resignation of Steve Ross and Tom Pitstick, sitting Trustees of Bath Township, for failure to uphold the mandate as trustees to perform their duties as financial fiduciaries and ensuring the safety, security, and the welfare of the Citizens of Bath Township and the City of Fairborn of which they represent. 

We believe that Steve Ross and Tom Pitstick have continually failed to hold the best interest of the citizens of Bath Township and the City of Fairborn (which resides in Bath Township) as their primary focus, and have let their personal views and interests result in decisions that have both negatively and adversely affected citizens thereof and resulted in the waste of taxpayers’ dollars. 

The following actions are among those decisions:

1.       Neither Steve Ross nor Tom Pitstick acted in good faith in an attempt to reach a Fire/EMS deal with the City of Fairborn.  These actions have placed resident’s lives and property in danger due to longer run times and less experienced personnel responding to Fire/EMS situations. Additionally, due to extended run time, Homeowner’s insurances have increased due to expected increase in loss as a result.  In addition to increased personal burden on citizens, there is increased cost to the township.  The current spending on Fire/EMS services for 2020 (Jan-Sep) is $605,000, which is $55,000 more than the City of Fairborn’s offer for the entire year of 2020.  This cost burden will increase further as the months of Oct-Dec have yet to be added in.  Due to decisions based on personal views, these trustees have not only risked citizen’s lives and property, but have done so at a higher cost to those they directly represent. 

2.       There has been a long standing conflict of interest regarding the Renergy/Dovetail Biodigester located on Tom Pitstick's farm on Herr Road and Tom Pitstick’s designation as a Bath Township Trustee, with Tom Pitstick only recently recusing himself of voting and decision making upon the matter.  The direct action of Tom Pitstick has resulted in the following:

a.       Residents in the following neighborhoods have been negatively impacted: Rona Village, Rona Hills, Mitman Park, Meadowlands, Chapelgate, National Homes, The Bluffs on Trebein, Waterford Landing, Cornerstone, Downtown Fairborn and others.  Citizens of these communities are being adversely affected by the horrible odors being produced by the Renergy/Dovetail Biodigester and can no longer enjoy their outside property they have spent hard earned money to obtain. An active 5.5 million gallon open sludge lagoon is not only causing these extremely obnoxious odors but we believe may also be causing unknown harm to our local waterways, farmland, crops, human health and other issues not yet determined, both by way of open storage as well as spreading as Class B Biosolids on land across many Ohio counties.

b.       As a result of Tom Pitstick’s actions, along with Steve Ross, the Ohio Ethics Committee has made requests for information to Bath Township for investigation in violations of Ohio Ethics Laws by both Trustees.

3.       Failure of action by Steve Ross and Tom Pitstick to properly perform thorough background checks into the Industrial Operation of the biodigester on Herr Road have caused increased financial burden and resulted in unsafe operating conditions to the community.

a.       By not performing due diligence and not reacting to the concerns of the citizens, Steve Ross and Tom Pitstick have caused unnecessary costs to the taxpayers for the costs of outside zoning experts and outside legal counsel. This obvious lack of consideration of the Bath Township and City of Fairborn residents is ongoing we believe it will further erode the tax base of not only Bath Township and the City of Fairborn but will also concurrently erode the tax base of Greene County Ohio.

b.       Steve Ross and Tom Pitstick have been advised by the Greene County Engineer that the deterioration of Herr Road is a direct result of the industrial truck traffic.  As many as 79 semi-trucks have been counted in one day on Herr Road.  Greene County Engineer’s own traffic study pointed out volumes of traffics exceeding the safety and load limits that the road was designed for.  Additionally, recommendations were made by the report for ways Bath Township to correct the issue, to include taking action against the industrial operation of the biodigester, however Steve Ross publicly stated he would not take any action on the recommendations nor take any action that would negatively impact Tom Pitstick’s operation on Herr Road.  Simultaneous to this lack of action for Herr Road, both Steve Ross and Tom Pitstick pushed for the renewal of the road levy to include coverage of repair of Herr Road at taxpayer’s cost, as well as continued effort to ensure the CEMEX plant was paying for road repair due to damage caused by their industrial operation. 

c.       The width of the Herr Road with high volume of industrial traffic results in several safety issues, with semis constantly driving down the middle of road, making wide turns into 235 into oncoming traffic lanes, and the fact that two semis cannot pass one another without each dropping their wheels off of the road.  These conditions not only cause safety concerns to the semis themselves, but also the daily traffic on Herr Road, to include cars, trucks, school busses, and children awaiting bussing before school in their driveways.     

4.       Due to the actions of Steve Ross and Tom Pitstick, there are at least 2 ongoing lawsuits that will cause the taxpayers additional money in award fees, legal counsel fees, increased insurance premiums and lost revenue. We anticipate that further litigation will be forthcoming and will cause additional dollars to the same taxpayers that have already footed the bill due to Steve Ross and Tom Pitstick not fulfilling the duties to which they were elected.

As a result of the above outlined actions, we call for the immediate resignation of Steve Ross and Tom Pitstick, for failure to uphold the mandate as trustees to perform their duties for the purpose of the financial responsibility, safety, the security, and the welfare of the Citizens of Bath Township and the City of Fairborn of which they represent. 

Signed, The Citizens of Bath Township and the City of Fairborn: