LFA looks to next steps in lake conservation project

CELINA - Lake Facilities Authority on Tuesday moved to award a contract to Kahlig Dozing & Excavating Inc. of Fort Recovery for phase 4 of the Mercer Wildlife Area project.

Phase 4 of the project entails extending a 4-inch force main to a phase 2 north wetland, silt fence removal and excavating deeper in front of the lift stations.

LFA board members - commissioners from Auglaize and Mercer counties - accepted Kahlig Dozing & Excavating's $8,585 quote for construction services.

Also submitting a bid was VTF Excavation LLC of Celina, which bid $14,234.80.

The project will be financed with H2Ohio funds.

Completed in early summer, Mercer Wildlife Area phase 3 included a 5-acre, four-sided dike wetland, where water is pumped in from Grand Lake, and some sloping work to the nearby shoreline. Mercer County Agriculture and Natural Resource Director Theresa Dirksen said she expected about 500,000 gallons a day to flow through the wetlands.

The Mercer Wildlife Area wetlands are not open to the public because they are within a bird sanctuary owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The project began in 2022 along State Route 703 and is a major wetland restoration initiative designed to reduce nutrient pollution that fuels algal blooms in Grand Lake.

In other business, LFA board members learned from Dirksen that ODNR denied their request to redirect $200,000 in funds left over from the Mercer Wildlife Area project to the Beaver Creek Treatment Train for the installation of an additional pump station.

"Right now, we pump 500,000 gallons per day at Beaver Creek," Dirksen said. "We would double that to 1 million gallons per day with the additional pump station."

Dirksen said she has since asked the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to consider funding the project. EPA officials reportedly indicated they like the plan, but said it must be approved by the EPA Region 5, which oversees Ohio and other states in the Midwest.

Also, LFA members and Dirksen discussed a potential plan to add solar panels to a lift station at the Burntwood-Langenkamp Wetland Conservation Area.

At the October LFA meeting, Dirksen said she spoke with someone from Erie County who suggested local officials add a few solar panels to the lift station at the Burntwood-Langenkamp property.

Dirksen has since spoken with Midwest Electric officials about the idea. They reportedly advised that they could tie the potential solar panels into the electric grid and buy back excess power at 7.8 cents per kilowatt hour.

Dirksen said she struggles with the idea of disturbing the tranquility of the Burntwood-Langenkamp site for the project.

"I have mixed feelings about it," she said. "I don't know if it's worth investing the time and money into it."

Dirksen estimated the project would cost at least $15,000 and advised the board she plans to continue research.

The Burntwood-Langenkamp property encompasses 88.9 acres and was purchased in 2021 using Clean Ohio funds for about $1.1 million.

"Restoration of the site occurred in late 2021 into 2022 utilizing H2Ohio funds," Dirksen had said at a meeting in June 2024. "The site has 30-40 acres of wetlands, 10 acres of reforestation and the remaining acreage is upland prairie habitat."

The public can find the entrance to Burntwood-Langenkamp south of 5181 Coldwater Creek Road, Celina, between Green and Younger roads.

Dirksen also reported that she has made a request with ODNR to redirect the remaining $300,000 from the Mercer Wildlife Area project to the Red Wing Nature Preserve to build wetlands and install a pump station.

The funds would not go toward the removal of around 4,000 tons of concrete and rebar on the property. The group is still discussing ways to remove or dispose of those materials.

The request to redirect funds has not yet made it to the ODNR director for approval. Dirksen said she hopes they will know if it's approved by next month.

Red Wing Nature Preserve was purchased this summer and spans 16.5-acres on State Route 703.

LFA applied a $388,796 Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Program grant toward the purchase of the property, which was previously owned by Gold Circle Developers of St. Marys. The rest of the expense was covered by H2Ohio funds and a donation from Gold Circle Developers.

LFA board members also:

•approved the treasurer's report. The current unexpended fund balance is $1.74 million. The year-to-date revenue is $2.07 million and the year-to-date expenses are $2.47 million.

•approved the 2025 operating budget. The total estimated revenue is $2.1 million. The total estimated expenditures are $2.45 million. The projected balance for Dec. 31, 2025, is $1.4 million.

They tentatively plan to meet next at 11 a.m. Dec. 19 in the commissioners office, located in suite A201 in the Central Services Building in Celina.