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Wetlands bog down new township hall
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - May 21, 2009)
Wetlands bog down new township hall
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Munson Trustees are stuck in the mud over the possibility of building a new township hall.
"We can't do a thing," township Zoning Inspector Timothy Kearns said. "We can't put a shovel in the ground."
Last week, Mr. Kearns told trustees about several snags in an attempt to mitigate wetlands on the property east of the existing Township Hall, which is slated for the new building.
The township must create or restore 0.45 acre of wetlands and preserve or enhance 6.75 acres of wetlands to compensate for the destruction of approximately 0.5 acre of wetlands on the construction site, Mr. Kearns said.
He said the township was considering an offer by the law firm of Petersen and Ibold, of Chardon, which donated the use of 13 acres for creating and enhancing or preserving wetlands that would be destroyed during construction.
However, Mr. Kearns said, the land being offered at no charge to the township lies in the Grand River watershed. The wetlands that are to be mitigated at the construction site are in the Chagrin River watershed, and the exchange will not be allowed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he said.
Sand Ridge Golf Course in Munson also was a possibility, Mr. Kearns said, but it has not been approved for creation credits. The process for that approval could take six to 12 months, he said.
Mr. Kearns said the Ohio Wetlands Foundation may provide the best option, although it would be a costly one. He said the foundation has 1.2 acres that is pre-approved for what the township requires. The cost is $33,600 per acre, he said.
Trustee Todd Ray said it is unknown whether the foundation is willing to sell a portion of its holdings or whether the township would be required to buy a whole acre.
One final option is through the Wetlands Preservation Ltd., which offers 0.5 acre at $23,250, Mr. Kearns said.
Mr. Ray said the township set aside wetlands east of Township Hall under a conservation easement, but that acreage cannot be used now for this project.
Mr. Ray said Geauga County also offers preservation credits, but those credits are in a different watershed.
Mr. Kearns said, before the board acts, he would like to continue discussions with the Army Corps of Engineers to determine whether the mitigation can be done using the Petersen property in another watershed.
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