Celina may hire consultant to gain needed permit

CELINA - The city intends to pay a consultant up to $25,000 to prepare a permit application so workers can resume dumping material on its breakwaters and to identify potential sites for wetlands development.

Both tasks are needed to complete the ongoing walkway project.

City council members Monday night unanimously passed first reading of an ordinance authorizing safety service director Tom Hitchcock to enter into an agreement with CTL Engineering Inc. of Wapakoneta. The fee would be paid through the Grand Lake Tax Increment Financing District where the walkway project is being completed.

Mayor Jeff Hazel this morning said the contract with CTL is necessary because its specialized services are beyond the scope of city personnel.

The cost estimate, according to CTL, is based on personnel rates of $175 per hour for senior project engineer, $155 per hour for project manager, $108 per hour for senior wetland scientist, $78 per hour for wetland scientist and for environmental scientist and $68 per hour for geographic information systems specialist.

"We aren't sure what our guidelines are yet from the EPA so there's things that could cost us more later on," Hitchcock said.

CTL would complete applications to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Ohio EPA to allow Celina to resume dumping material on the breakwaters along West Bank Road. The process is estimated at $16,500 and could take as long as six months to complete, according to CTL.

Brian Maka, a Corps spokesman, told the newspaper the city's permit to dump material on the breakwaters was issued May 16, 2005, and expired March 31, 2009. The city stopped work on the breakwaters after officials last fall learned the permit had expired under the previous administration of mayor Sharon LaRue.

"There's a lot of unknowns in this since we have been in violation so long," Hitchcock said.

The city could face civil or criminal penalties for dumping without a legal permit, according to the Code of Federal Regulations. The district engineer may recommend criminal or civil actions to obtain penalties when appropriate, the regulations state.

"Due to the many unknowns currently associated with this project, such as potential enforcement action by both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Ohio EPA, we can only estimate what our fees will be at this time," CTL wrote in its proposal to the city.

City officials are seeking an after-the-fact permit for work already completed and new permits. According to Maka, permits that have expired cannot be renewed.

CTL also would assist the city in meeting a nearly decade-long obligation to develop 7.15 acres of wetlands as part of the walkway project.

"We may have to buy new ground, too," Hitchcock said. "So this $25,000 is just kind of the tip of the iceberg."

Celina must create the wetlands in exchange for filling in 7.15 acres of Grand Lake for the walkway, according to Ohio EPA spokeswoman Dina Pierce. The wetland creation is required for permits issued to the city by Ohio EPA and the Corps.

In 2007, city council members purchased a vacant 5.1-acre parcel on Johnston Road along Coldwater Creek for $63,000 from developer Steve Klosterman to fulfill the wetlands obligation.

City officials recently learned only a little more than 2 of the acres qualified as new wetlands. The remaining land was already wetlands and didn't count toward the goal, Hitchcock said.

For an estimated $3,500, CTL would help find additional sites by reviewing the city's current vacant land holdings or property the city may consider purchasing, per the agreement.

CTL also proposes to design and plan expanded mitigation at the Johnston Road site to create additional wetlands at an estimated cost of $5,000.

Many complex environmental factors must be taken into consideration when choosing a site for wetlands, Hazel told the newspaper.

Councilman June Scott pointed out that CTL's costs would be paid through the Grand Lake TIF, not the city's general fund, which pays for the day-to-day operations of the city.

"Just like we've been holding to that ever since we started this (walkway) project; I'll keep beating that dead horse until we're done," he said.