FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP — The annexation of a 97-acre piece of land targeted as the site of a larger Bishop Fenwick High School is on hold again.

        Franklin Township trustees have appealed last month's ruling by visiting Judge William Stapleton that allowed Middletown to annex the site. That decision overturned an October 2001 decision by Warren County commissioners, who denied the annexation petition.

        School officials say they don't know what effect the appeal, filed Wednesday, may have on their $12 million plans to build a new campus on the site along Ohio 122, about 1.3 miles east of Interstate 75. The land was donated by Fifth Duet, a corporation owned by Fenwick alumnus Bill Akers and his wife, Debbie.

        Later this month, the school will go out for bids on site preparation work and athletic facilities, with construction starting next month. Work on the 75,000- to 90,000-square-foot building could begin in August or September.

        “I'm hopeful it will not slow our progress down,” said Father Charles “Chuck” Mentrup, Fenwick's principal. “Ultimately, we'd like to maintain our relationship with the city of Middletown, which we've had for 50 years.”

        Still unclear, however, is what sewer system the school would be hooked up to, Father Mentrup said Thursday. So far, requests for utility permits have been filed with Warren County.

        “If it was resolved, it would help us determine who we'll get our sewer (service) from — either Middletown or Warren County,” he said.

        Franklin Township Trustee President Rupert Ruppert said trustees filed the appeal because they believe the trial court erred by not taking into consideration emergency response time to the site. Mr. Ruppert said it would take Middletown crews three or four minutes longer to get to the site than township emergency medical crews.

        Middletown Mayor David Schiavone called the trustees' appeal “purely political.”

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