Plain City Council and the Madison County Commissioners are in official agreement that they would like to regionalize their water and sewer services.
The two boards each recently voted at a special joint meeting to file a petition to establish the Mid-Ohio Water and Sewer District.
“We know this is best for the residents of our village, we know this is best for the environment of the Big Darby and we know this is best for the future growth of the area,” said Council President Michael Terry.
John Albers, with law firm Albers & Albers, explained that approval to file the petition is only the first step in the process.
He said creating a regional water and sewer district, which will ultimately function as an independent political subdivision of the state of Ohio, is a court process.
Once the petitions are filed, the Madison County Common Pleas Court will review a plan of operation created by the IBI Group, an engineering firm contracted by the Madison County Commissioners.
If the district is established, only then can both boards begin negotiating transfer agreements, Albers explained.
Randy Stoll, with the IBI group, laid out a number of benefits that will come from the establishment of the district, according to a preliminary study.
They include:
-Reducing costs through economies of scale;
-Reducing or discontinuing discharge of treated sewage into the Big Darby Creek;
-Qualifying as an applicant of grants and low interest loans;
-Complying with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) regulations and discharge limits;
-Increasing property values and decreasing insurance costs through the availability of reliable services;
-Providing local representation to serve on the district board.
Only one individual spoke during the public comments section of the meeting.
Don Gregory, a Plain City-Georgesville Road resident, agreed with the benefits laid out by Stoll.
He said he is aware of the “development and population pressures” facing the area but feels establishing a regional water and sewer district is the best way to protect the Big Darby Creek while allowing growth to take place.
“It seems to me that the formation of this district and the creation of this board is a step in the right direction,” Gregory said.
While the majority of the commissioners and council members echoed the benefits explained in the preliminary study, Council member Frank Reed said he was hesitant to file a petition until more work was done.
Reed was the only individual on either board who voted against filing the petition.
Reed said he would like to know more about the transfer of facilities and the negotiation process.
According to an appendix within the preliminary study, Madison County officials intend to transfer the following sanitary sewer facilities to the district once established: Sewer District 1, which provides services for the business along U.S. 42 near the I-10 intersection; Sewer District 2, which serves the areas along Route 56 and Old Columbus Road; Camp Wissalohichan sanitary sewer collection system and wastewater facility and the Burr Oak gravity flow sanitary sewer system.
The county would also transfer two water treatment facilities, Water District 1, which serves the London Correctional Institute, Madison County Correctional Institute, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy; and the Camp Wissalohichan water distribution system and water treatment plant.
Plain City officials intend to transfer its wastewater treatment facilities and the water treatment plant and distribution system.
Reed also said he would like to know more about the service rates for village residents once the district is in place.
While Terry said he understands Reed’s desire for answers, the council president said filing the petition is an attempt to establish the board that will do that work.
He said, “We’ve come as far as we can without the creation of this entity.”
“For me, I have a really hard time asking for the end of the story before the book is written,” Terry told Reed.
Albers said he foresees the petition being in court in December. If the establishment of the district is approved, the Madison County Commissioners and Plain City Council will appoint board members to serve on behalf of the district.
Then, Albers said negotiations of transfer agreements can begin.