By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Farmers between Bowling Green and Perrysburg don’t take kindly to their fields being flooded out by plugged ditches. But it appears that people living in neighboring housing developments also don’t take kindly to being told how to handle the ditches that meander through their backyards.
The two sides of the issue butted heads last week during preliminary hearings on clearing two ditches in Middleton Township. The opposing sides did a lot of eye rolling and head shaking at each others’ testimony before the Wood County Commissioners.
The proposed ditch projects, petitioned by farmers Gerald Moser and Doug Pratt, start on Five Point Road and head north through the River Bend housing subdivision.
Flooding already occurs in the Five Point Road ditch area, and is expected to get worse once nearly 300 homes are constructed in the development.
According to Wood County Engineer Ray Huber, the watershed for the projects includes 764 acres.
“This office feels that the quicker the ditch in question can be placed under county care, the better,” Huber stated in his report to the county commissioners. “In other words, this would lessen the impact on developed lots and facilitate ditch construction where home construction has not started.”
Prolonging the ditch cleanup will only exacerbate construction issues later, Huber said.
But attorneys representing the River Bend development said putting the ditches under a county maintenance program is unnecessary. The homeowners association can properly maintain the ditches, they stated.
“The assumption is government can do a better job” than the homeowners, attorney Jerome Parker said. “That’s not true.”
Brian McCarthy, developer of River Bend, said clogged ditches have not been a problem.
“We’ve maintained our ditches,” McCarthy said.
However, Huber said such efforts by homeowner groups are often unsuccessful.
Duane Abke, of the county engineer’s office, said McCarthy made the same claims with the nearby Emerald Lakes subdivision. But the ditches there often flood with rain, Abke said. And the developer points the finger at the homeowners association as responsible for any improvements.
Middleton Township Trustee Fred Vetter repeatedly shook his head during the hearing as the attorneys and developer denied any responsibility for flooding issues.
“We gotta look 30 years down the road on how that ditch will be maintained,” Vetter said.
The ditches are already not flowing freely. “The last time that ditch got cleaned” farmers pulled out their checkbooks and paid for the work, Vetter said.
But they shouldn’t have to foot the bill once 300 homes are added to the watershed, he said. The estimated cost for the Moser ditch project is $65,000, and the cost for the Pratt section is $42,600.
Parker also said the county engineer’s office took the ditch projects beyond their original scopes to include the River Bend development. He and attorney Drew Griffith said the project did not benefit residents of the subdivision – yet they would be assessed with all the other landowners in the watershed.
“We don’t have any problems,” Parker said.
The projects would also render some lots unbuildable or undesirable since they may require trees be removed and rip-rap be installed.
Wood County Commissioner Joel Kuhlman said prior to making a decision, the county needs to answer the primary question.
“Do the costs outweigh the benefits, or do the benefits outweigh the costs,” Kuhlman said.
“What is this going to be like in 30 years,” Commissioner Doris Herringshaw asked. “I think we have to keep that in mind.”
The issue goes beyond the perceived lack of a benefit to those in the River Bend subdivision, Kuhlman said. “This is a community issue.”
Tom Cooper, a resident of Roachton Road, said he objected to the possible removal of all trees and brush along the ditch. He said no farm tiles drain into the ditch anymore. But Abke said five field tiles currently come into the ditch to drain land south of the subdivision. Those drainage tiles can’t be obstructed by the housing development, he said.
The preliminary ditch hearings were adjourned to collect more testimony on the merits of the projects.
