The city of Beavercreek is taking the next step in its effort to annex from Beavercreek Twp. 118 acres of land, the majority of which is owned by the township or Greene County.

City Council is expected to vote on a resolution tonight authorizing attorney Catherine Cunningham to institute a writ of mandamus action to compel Greene County Board of Commission to perform its statutory duties and approve the annexation petition.

A writ of mandamus is a court order directing a public body to take action. At a Jan. 15 meeting, a motion was made to approve the petition, but it died because it was not seconded by another commissioner.

The resolution says the commissioners “failed to act in accordance with Section 709.023(G) of the Ohio Revised Code.”

The writ of mandamus will be filed with Greene County Common Pleas Court, according to city law director Stephen McHugh.

“What the resolution says is the city is seeking the approval of the annexation,” McHugh said. “This is the process provided for by statute.”

Included in the 118 acres of land are the township-owned administration building, fire department headquarters and three parks — Rotary, Victory and Phillips.

“Townships don’t like annexations,” said Carol Graff, Beavercreek Twp. trustee. “Will we object to them? Yes. Will we fight them strongly? It depends. This particular one is onerous because they took in properties owned by public bodies, and never asked the public bodies. I find it very distasteful.”

The city initiated the annexation process after it was approached by the owners of 5.1 acres of land on Dayton-Xenia Road and Rine Landscaping, who uses the property, about annexing the property into the city. The landscaping company had a disagreement with the township about a zoning issue.

The proposed expansion of the city includes a tract of land on Dayton-Xenia Road that starts near Beaver Valley Road and ends close to the Beavercreek Twp. Cemetery.

“Based on the information provided by our attorneys, they failed to meet the requirements as far as what the law required,” county commissioner Tom Koogler said. “It would provide them the opportunity to take a look at it a second time without telling them no. In essence, the request for annexation failed because it didn’t get a second, but they were not turned down at the same time.”

Alan Anderson, the Greene County Board of Commissioners president, moved to approve the Beavercreek petition at the Jan. 15 meeting following an executive session on the issue. The motion then died.

Commissioner Bob Glaser, a former Beavercreek Twp. trustee, recused himself from the work session and vote.

“(Beavercreek is) looking for more information regarding that process, and they certainly have the right to go forward with that,” Koogler said. “We’ll see where it takes us.

“It’s not my job to have a stance,” he added. “If I did, it’d certainly bias the process, and with this type of annexation, it’s not my job to determine whether or not it’s a good deal or a bad deal.”

Beavercreek Twp. trustees have been opposed to the annexation since they were notified of the city’s plans in October when the petition was filed.

“I understand why city council wants to know the reason the petition was not approved,” Graff said. “I think most of us are curious. I would like to know so we know how to object to the future ones.”

Council previously said annexing the property is an opportunity to be forward thinking about the city’s future.

Beavercreek Twp. employs about 100 people — the bulk full and part-time firefighters — and has about a $5.76 million annual payroll.

Staff writers Doug Page, Sharahn D. Boykin and Amelia Robinson contributed to this story.