The Board of Appraisers of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District is nearing completion of the work to establish an assessment to fund a 20-year, $270-million maintenance and improvement plan for the reservoirs and dams in the Muskingum River Watershed.
During a meeting today (Dec. 14) at New Philadelphia, members of the Board of Appraisers reviewed several items related to the assessment proposal and scheduled meetings in January to finalize the plan. The Board of Appraisers is expected to adopt an assessment plan in January and formally file it for review and consideration in February.
James Rozelle of the engineering firm Fuller, Mossbarger, Scott and May of Cincinnati, which is serving as consultant to the MWCD on the assessment project, told the appraisers that his staff expects to complete the data collection and management portion of the project in a couple of weeks. MWCD will be using the data collected by the engineering firm to establish a Geographic Information System (GIS) for management of the assessment program.
Rozelle also reviewed several other items, including a list of proposed land use codes for establishment of base assessment fees.
The Board of Appraisers have scheduled two meetings in January (Jan. 6 and 18) to finalize their proposal.
Conservancy District officials have estimated the assessment will cost the owners of residential and agricultural properties in its 18-county jurisdiction about $12 per parcel annually, with adjacent properties combined into one basic assessment. An estimate for commercial/industrial parcels is being developed.
Collection of the assessment has been projected to begin in 2007.
Funds generated through collection of the assessment will be used for maintenance and improvements of the flood reduction system originally constructed in the 1930s. Since their inception, the dams and reservoirs in the MWCD region have prevented an estimated $6 billion worth of potential property damage from flooding. In the January 2005 flood alone, more than $400 million worth of property damage was averted.
The Board of Appraisers by law is the body that develops the methodology for assessments related to conservancy districts.
Ohio law authorizes the state’s conservancy districts to levy assessments. Three basic classes of parcels are subject to the assessment: residential, agricultural and commercial/industrial. The Board of Appraisers – James Navratil of Medina, Thomas Roe of Wooster and Mark Waltz of Dover – have said they plan to have their work related to the program complete by early 2006.
Since its inception, the MWCD has operated on revenue primarily from the use of its facilities through various fee structures and the stewardship of its natural resources. However, this funding alone cannot address the large-scale needs and costs associated with the aging system, which are showing the effects of sedimentation, erosion and other issues that can have a negative impact on flood reduction and water quality benefits.
The MWCD, the largest of the estimated 21 conservancy districts in the state, is believed to be the only one active district that does not collect an assessment for maintenance of its facilities.
The 14 MWCD reservoirs are Atwood in Carroll and Tuscarawas counties; Beach City in Tuscarawas County; Bolivar in Stark and Tuscarawas counties; Charles Mill in Ashland and Richland counties; Clendening in Harrison County; Dover in Tuscarawas County; Leesville in Carroll County; Mohawk in Coshocton and Knox counties; Mohicanville in Ashland and Wayne counties; Piedmont in Belmont, Guernsey and Harrison counties; Pleasant Hill in Ashland and Richland counties; Seneca in Guernsey and Noble counties; Tappan in Harrison County; and Wills Creek in Coshocton and Muskingum counties. Two other reservoirs, Dillon in Muskingum County and North Branch Kokosing in Knox County, were constructed after the original 14 and are operated exclusively by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The 18 counties wholly or partially contained in the MWCD region are Ashland, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Wayne and Washington.
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