A series of “town hall” meetings over the next several weeks to discuss the maintenance and improvement needs of the system of flood-reduction reservoirs and dams is among the public information projects to be completed by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District.
During its meeting today (May 19), the MWCD Board of Directors authorized a proposal to schedule several meetings around the MWCD’s 18-county region, produce a video and conduct other projects that will provide public officials, community leaders and residents with details about the Conservancy District’s 20-year, $270-million plan to maintain and upgrade the system.
“We have a great opportunity here during the next few months to provide information to the residents of our region about the MWCD, its history and the future needs to protect the benefits provided by the system of reservoirs and dams,” said John M. Hoopingarner, MWCD executive director/secretary. “We encourage anyone who has questions about the program to attend the meetings in their area or to contact us directly.”
MWCD officials recently pledged to members of the Ohio General Assembly that they would aggressively promote details about the maintenance plan and the assessment of property owners in the region to fund it, as provided for in Ohio Law. Hoopingarner also said the MWCD would postpone seeking approval of the proposal before the Conservancy Court until sometime in August.
“We believe these steps will increase public understanding and support of the assessment and will clearly show the necessity of acting by early fall,” Hoopingarner said during the meeting in JIM’s Place at New Philadelphia. “It will invite and encourage local public input to be involved and participate in the process.
“Any additional postponement of the assessment will – at a minimum – threaten our federal funding and could delay the plan to the point where lives and property are unnecessarily put into jeopardy.”
Hoopingarner also reminded members of the Board of Directors that because four of the dams in the system – Beach City, Bolivar, Dover and Mohawk – presently cannot be operated at full capacity due to safety and maintenance needs, the entire system also is not capable of reaching its full performance standards, if needed. The four dams are ranked among the top 20 in the country most in need of repairs and maintenance, according to the federal government.
Since its inception, the MWCD system of reservoirs and dams has prevented more than $6 billion worth of potential property damage in the Muskingum River Basin from flooding, according to federal government estimates. An independent study of the potential benefits of the MWCD maintenance and improvement plan estimates that once enacted, the region will receive about $2.5 billion in future benefits compared to its initial $270-million investment. The plan also will lead to the protection and creation of much-needed jobs with contracts enacted with private firms for much of the work.
Projects that have been identified to be addressed over the 20-year time period include working with the federal government for dam safety improvements, as well as work on sediment removal, shoreline protection, water quality improvements, watershed management and reservoir operations. The MWCD manages the reservoirs behind the dams in the system, while the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates the dams.
Board members also heard from four residents of the Muskingum River Basin who criticized the plan to maintain and improve the system. One man said that in his calculations of an assessment plan, agricultural property owners should be assessed at a greater rate than that proposed by the MWCD, while a woman told the Board that she believes owners of residential property will pay more than what is proposed if any legislation is approved that grants exemptions from the assessment to certain property types.
Hoopingarner answered several questions from the residents and emphasized to them that the MWCD would be available to provide additional details. He also said that residents who have questions about the plan and/or the assessment proposal should contact the MWCD on the Internet at www.mwcd.org or by calling toll-free at (877) 363-8500.
MWCD officials have been discussing the plan and developing details of the assessment proposal since 2003, when the Court authorized work to begin.
For more information, visit www.mwcd.org on the Internet.
In other business, the Board:
- Agreed to renew its general liability insurance policy and membership in The Ohio Plan at an annual premium of $168,747 for the upcoming plan year, a reduction of 11.7 percent from the previous year.
- Approved an operational policy to govern late payments and storage violations for its campground operations.
- Authorized Hoopingarner to enter into a Notification of Intent to Continue for a proposed conservation easement on about 167 acres of MWCD-owned property at Mohawk Reservoir with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service.
- Held an executive session to discuss pending legal matters. Following the conclusion of the session, the Board authorized the Conservancy District’s legal counsel to continue representation in two ongoing cases.
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