Mayfield Heights Council Takes Issue of Mayor's Lease to Court

City Council has gone to court to seek details of a lease agreement between Mayor Gregory Costabile and Seagull Development Corporation.

In February, council voted 4-2 to hire an attorney to investigate the lease. Council President Michael Ballistrea, Councilmen Ronald Kobunski and David Sasak and Councilman Donna Finney voted in favor. Councilmen Joe Mercurio and Anthony DiCicco were opposed, while Diane Snider abstained because her husband is a union official for the police department.

On behalf of council, attorney Steven Dever filed a petition in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on June 1 asking for the release of the lease document and disclosure of what Costabile was paid as part of a gas well aggregation group that signed an agreement with Seagull in 2008.

Dever said the petition was triggered by the fact that Costabile did not disclose his lease with Seagull to the Ohio Ethics Commission. He said Costabile is required to do so when he conducts business with any entity that has done or is doing business with the city.

Costabile said Friday that he had not seen the complaint, notice of which was sent to him on Thursday by certified mail. However, he said the court action was a waste of taxpayer money. He said council allocated up to $15,000 to spend on legal fees regarding the lease.

He said there was no conflict of interest on his part and he excused himself from business involving a city contract regarding an easement granted to Seagull in 2009. He said the only other business Seagull had with the city was when it sought to put gas wells in the city park in 2007 and was denied.

Costabile said he was never in position to influence city business with Seagull.

"There was no quid quo pro. That has clearly been established," he said.

He added that he doesn't have to release details of a private lease.

"As a private citizen, I have certain rights. I'm not required to release them to a council person just because they ask for it," Costabile said.

Costabile added that he couldn't divulge lease details even if he wanted to because of a confidentiality agreement in the contract. However, he said he would like to get the matter over with and would provide the information if allowed to do so.

"I don't want this hanging over my head and the city's head. I just can't do it," Costabile said. "It can only be done if both parties agree it can be released."

Costabile said he's talked to council about the situation several times and he questioned the motives of those who want to pursue legal action. He said they reached a decision that he did something wrong and were "trying to put the pieces together to support it."

"The sad part is that we're talking about this when we have so many great things going on in the city of Mayfield Heights," he added.

Ballistrea did not return a call for comment. Back in February, he said investigation was needed to determine if anything inappropriate had been done. He said council needed to hire an attorney because Costabile refused to share details of the contract.