Property owners who have been kept in the dark on South Arlington Road finally could see the light — if they agree to pay portions of the costs to erect the streetlights they want and to keep them operating.But the project, which the Arlington Neighborhood Association has been working on for several years, is still in limbo because paperwork needed to move the process forward is incorrect, said Peggy Reed, who represents the association of residents and business owners along a busy 1.1-mile stretch of road.“I’m not asking anyone to sign anything until it says what it has to say,” Reed said in a recent interview.With Reed at the helm, the association has tried to get lights installed from the Akron city limits to Killian Road.One of the difficulties the project is facing is that Arlington Road separates Springfield Township on the east and Coventry Township on the west. Bringing the townships and the city of Akron together to work out the details has been extremely complicated, said Joni Murgatroyd, fiscal officer for Coventry Township, who stepped up last March to help the association.Murgatroyd said Coventry has helped prepare the petitions, has compiled the list of property owners and was able to get Springfield and Akron to join in helping to alleviate the financial burden on individual property owners along the road.“Coventry Township has worked very hard to make this project happen, not only with the property owners, but with our colleagues from Springfield Township and the city of Akron,” Murgatroyd said. Each of the three communities is expected to pay 25 percent of the cost, using Joint Economic Development District funds. That leaves property owners on the designated portion of Arlington Road to provide the remaining 25 percent, to be assessed over three years. The final agreement, which will need formal approval by Akron and both townships, stipulates that each community would pay about $6,256.In July, Coventry Township agreed to pull the communities together in a final cost-sharing agreement, but told Reed it would be up to the association to get the 125 property owners along South Arlington to sign the petition to accept the tax burden and verify that the information on the petition is correct.Reed said the petitions Coventry provided do not include about 500 feet on the Coventry side of the road, from Swartz Road to the Akron line. With the inclusion of the additional property, the figures on the petition might change based on the number of lights needed, Reed said. If there are any problems with the petitions, they are minor and not insurmountable, said Irv Sugerman, legal counsel for Coventry.“If there are any issues to deal with, as we usually do [have] — not every project is perfect — we will get it solved,” he said.“We all want this to happen. It’s a great project, and we’ve done everything we can possibly do to make this happen at this point.” Businesses back projectThe association, formed in 2007 as a way to help protect the neighborhood from crime, has spent four years getting to this point, Reed said. She has operated a barbershop in the area for more than 25 years and asked other business owners to come together to solve common issues.She sends email to 1,500 people with whom she shares information about meetings and updates on safety concerns.Mark Shamp, owner of Shamp Bionics, which makes prosthetic limbs, said he got involved because many of the people who come to his business are amputees. Some arrive by bus, using the Metro stop in front of his building.“Look what happened to that poor police officer down here,” Shamp said, referring to Springfield Township Patrolman Mark Dodez, 32, a 12-year police veteran, who broke his arm and a vertebra when he was hit by a truck during a traffic stop in the area in April.“It’s just dark.Many of the businesses owners, including Shamp, say their properties have been burglarized and vandalized — as his was three years ago when thieves broke in, damaging the property and walking away with only $20.Since Jan. 1, there have been 11 burglaries and 35 thefts reported in the Arlington Road area of Coventry, which is covered by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, said Lt. Doug Smith of the patrol division.Springfield police could not break out comparable figures for just the east side of Arlington Road.Church joins effortTodd Hearnsberger, pastor of Legacy Church, said he believes crime has gradually grown in the area since he became minister to the congregation 14 years ago. He said the church has spent at least $2,000 for outside lighting but is willing to pay its share for additional lights in the neighborhood.“It’s worth me paying extra each month,” Hearnsberger said.The lights are the most important aspect to the safety of his congregation and about 70 children who attend preschool and a soon-to-open K-12 Christian academy, he said.“On a one-to-10 scale, street lighting is a 10-plus,” he said.Sugerman said that at this point, all that stands between the property owners and better lighting is getting the petitions signed and back to Coventry Township.“All we are waiting for now is the petitions to get signed and filed. If [Reed] needs any assistance, we are glad to assist her and all of the other neighbors both in Springfield and Coventry,” he said.Reed said she sent the township an email earlier this month asking for the changes but said she has not spoken with anyone directly. She said the project is on hold until she gets the corrected petitions for property owners to sign.“There is no compromise on that one,” she said.Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.