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Flood assessments would drain residents
(by Joan Demirjian - October 15, 2008)
Flood assessments would drain residents
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
Bainbridge Township Trustees said they did not hear support Monday from residents of Cedar and South streets for property assessments to solve flooding problems in the neighborhood.
Trustees met with residents to discuss possible assessments for a project to address the flooding that residents have faced frequently as areas around them developed.
The assessments could double the property owners' taxes. When residents were asked if they would support such an assessment, no hands were raised in favor of it.
The township has been working with the Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District to develop a plan to solve flooding problems. Bainbridge has put $50,000 into engineering studies, and another estimated $54,000 would be needed for construction drawings.
Carmella Shale, administrator of the soil and water conservation district, said the project is estimated at $1.6 million.
One method of paying for it is through assessments of property owners. She said they could amount to $50,000 per house, which would paid over a 15-year period. Another would be for Geauga County Commissioners to place an issue on the ballot for residents in the precinct to vote on.
"The reality is, how bad is the flooding?" Ms. Shale asked. "Is it bad enough to double taxes."
Trustee Matthew Lynch said Bainbridge Trustees need to know if the residents are in favor of being assessed. If not, he said, the township does not want to pay for more engineering studies.
Grants and state and federal funding have been pursued, but so far the efforts have been unsuccessful, Mrs. Shale said.
Mr. Lynch said that townships cannot spend public money on private property improvements.
Residents suggested that the township fix culverts that are clogged as one step toward improving conditions in the area.
Resident Kathy Schulman said she saw many changes after Geauga County realigned Chagrin Road.
Everything being built around Cedar and South streets changes the drainage, Trustee Linda White said. The flooding has been going on since the 1920s, she said.
Homeowners could put out a notice that, during storms, they should help clean up the stream channel on their properties, Ms. White said.
According to Jean Riley, of Cedar Street, the county reconfigured culverts on Chagrin Road. They were channeled under the Greenville Inn parking lot, and "that's where it started," she said of several flooding incidents in the last three years.
Ila Klatka, owner of the Chagrin Valley Roller Rink, said property owners can't afford $50,000 in assessments.
Nobody wants to be assessed $2,000 a year for 15 years, Cedar Street resident John Widman said. He said he appreciates the township spending $50,000 for engineering, but now they are back to square one. "The problem isn't going to go away," he said. "What's the proper way to proceed?"
Mr. Widman questioned whether it's only a private property problem. With all the reconfiguration of roads and construction upstream, "who said it is not creating a problem and making it worse?" he asked. "You have a legal right to protect the township. Why can't you address that?"
Mr. Lynch said he will contact the Geauga County Prosecutor's Office to see if there is any legal way the township can make repairs on private property. However, the question came up in the Kenston Lake subdivision, and the township cannot spend public money to work on private projects, he said. If the township does it for some property owners, everyone in Bainbridge with a problem on private property also will want assistance, he said.
Mr. Lynch recommended that the homeowners work together on some of the problems on private property. He offered to attend an organization meeting for that purpose.
He will meet with the township road superintendent at the site to discuss the culvert improvements, he said.
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