BELLVILLE — It’s just $3,800 in a an estimated $4.2 million sanitary sewer project.
But the Richland County Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved “fair market value” offers for two parcels of land that need to be acquired for a wastewater improvement plan near the I-71/Ohio 97 interchange.
Commissioners offered $1,500 for a 1.235-acre parcel and $2,300 for a 0.557-acre parcel near the existing lift station near the intersection of Ohio 97 and Bellville-Johnsville Road.
The two parcels have different owners, according to county administrator Andrew Keller, who said neither piece of land is “developable.”
“This being a federally funded project, we have to follow the federal eminent domain process,” he said said.
“So we have 70-page reports prepared on each parcel. Part of that involves a good faith offer that the county will make to the property owner for the property based upon the appraisal report,” Keller said.
“They’re going to provide better access, particularly for the lift station at Bellville-Johnsville Road,” he said.
The overall project will run from east of the current underground lift station and travel west to Kochheiser Road, just west of I-71.
Officials have said the project, funded by a portion of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds, is needed for expected economic development along the Ohio 97 corridor, including the planned $22 million YMCA of North Central Ohio Sports Complex, a 100,000-square foot site on 35 acres on the south side of the state highway near Kochheiser Road.
Keller said the parcels are in a flood plain, which he said helps contribute to them not being developable.
“The county will engage with these property owners and enter into any necessary negotiations,” he said. “Both of them already have easements on them.”
He said the consultant working with the county on the project has already contacted the property owners, “so today is a bit of a formality.”
Commissioners on Tuesday approved seeking bids for the project. Those bids will be opened on Sept. 17 and a contract must be signed and money appropriated by the end of 2024 in order to meet ARPA timeline restrictions.
“We don’t have a calendar time frame at this point (on acquiring the properties),” Keller said. “Obviously, sooner rather than later would be helpful for expediency’s sake.
“But we don’t expect these acquisitions to be controversial or or problematic,” he said.
more coverage of the I-71/Ohio 97 wastewater improvement project
The construction project must be complete by the end of 2026 to meet ARPA deadlines.
“We’re hopeful that this project is well-received by contractors,” Keller said Tuesday. “We need to be under contract with a contractor by the end of the year and we’re on track to do that.
“We’re confident that’s going to happen,” he said.
“We’ll (then) have two years to complete the project. Our engineer has designed this project so that substantial completion is in April of 2026. We believe that’s being generous, it’s just depending on contingencies.
“So we’re on track,” Keller said. “We’re ready to get started.”
