Friday, December 27th, 2019
LFA to buy 30 acres for wetlands
Clean Ohio fund money, line-item dollars to pay for $629,000 project
By Sydney Albert
CELINA - Lake Facilities Authority officials on Thursday approved buying 30 acres of land to construct wetlands between Chickasaw Creek and Little Chickasaw Creek for a total cost of $629,000.
The land will reportedly be converted into littoral wetlands as part of a modified treatment train for the area. Littoral wetlands are those that extend from the shoreline.
Theresa Dirksen of Ag Solutions said that $465,460 of the total would be reimbursed by the Clean Ohio fund. The other $163,540 would come from a state capital line item that had already funded LFA's account, Dirksen said.
In other business, LFA signed a pass-through grant agreement with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for $250,000. The grant gives the LFA a license to access the West Beach property, which is owned by ODNR, to enter into work contracts and complete projects on the property.
The LFA will be able to submit invoices to ODNR and seek reimbursement for up to $245,000. ODNR will keep $5,000 of the $250,000 as an administrative fee, Dirksen said. Once the $245,000 has been spent, LFA's access license would expire, according to Dirksen's understanding.
Some improvements could include construction of a playground, nearby boat dock or ramp area or kiosks.
LFA members also approved a $22,500 invoice from Access Engineering Solutions for organization and survey costs related to the Quivey property acquisition. Another invoice for the title work and closing costs is outstanding.
Officials had been in discussions with the owner, trustee Quivey Donnagene of Charleston, Illinois, for about a year, county community development director Jared Ebbing had said in 2018.
Officials had wanted to purchase 40 acres at a cost of $750,000, according to a 2018 Mercer County commissioners' resolution.
"The currently tilled farmland will return to grassland and the site will be managed for wetlands preservation and native wildlife habitat," the resolution states. "The area will be open to the public during daylight hours, seven days a week year round."
Other payments approved by the LFA included a $4,000 invoice from Miami Valley Appraisers for appraisal of the Gilliland Project property and $4,000 from Miami Valley Appraisers for appraisal of the Investacorr property.
The current fund balance is about $2.8 million. Year-to-date revenue is $109,487.64, and year-to-date expenses have
been $97,961.31.
