Over two months after the final implosion at the Avon Lake Power Plant, a group of local residents is taking their concerns about the demolition to court. On Tuesday, Avon Lake Mayor Mark Spaetzel appeared before Lorain County Probate Court for a hearing—his first since a lawsuit was filed seeking his removal from office.
The group, known as “Ohio Citizens for Honesty, Integrity and Openness in Government Ltd.,” first raised their allegations during a city council meeting on February 24. Their 31-page lawsuit claims the mayor violated city ordinances and failed in his duty to serve Avon Lake residents by not delaying the scheduled demolitions at the former power plant. Concerns over potential health and environmental impacts arose following a small blast in July and a larger implosion in December.
Spaetzel has previously dismissed the claims as “false and baseless.” Tuesday’s hearing did not focus on those allegations but instead centered on procedural matters, including jurisdiction, legal representation, and applicable statutes.
“This is a chicken-and-egg kind of situation,” Lorain County Probate Judge James Walther remarked during the proceedings. He noted that this was the first case of its kind he had overseen and pointed out that the Ohio statute granting probate court’s authority over removal cases dates back to 1871.
A key issue raised during the hearing was the role of attorney Gerald Phillips, who filed the lawsuit and is representing seven plaintiffs in the case. Walther questioned whether Phillips could proceed with the case, as Ohio law designates the city’s law director as the appropriate prosecutor in such matters. Phillips, however, sought to disqualify Avon Lake Law Director Gary Ebert, arguing that Ebert’s appointment by the mayor presented a conflict of interest. Phillips also moved to disqualify Spaetzel’s attorney, Kevin Butler, citing Butler’s connection to the city.
Ebert and Butler countered that their representation and any potential conflicts were irrelevant because the case should not be in probate court at all. They asserted that Avon Lake’s city charter already outlines a process for removing a mayor, requiring either a city council vote or a public referendum.
“It’s a baseless case. There’s no conflict of interest when we all agree that a case should be dismissed, and that’s what’s happened here,” Butler told reporters after the hearing.
Phillips responded, stating, “The mayor and the law director may say, ‘There’s no facts, it’s baseless, it’s false.’ Well, the implosions went [forward]. They should’ve been stopped.”
Judge Walther did not issue any rulings on Tuesday but scheduled a tentative trial date for March 14. However, he told the court that several decisions would be made before then. By Monday, he intends to rule on attorney disqualifications and determine whether the case should be dismissed outright.
Phillips indicated that his group stands by their claims and plans to appeal if the case is dismissed.