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Local News

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Study group tackles flood control
By JOY BROWN

STAFF WRITER

An upcoming deadline to form an organization to oversee flood control efforts was emphasized Tuesday at a meeting of government officials from the Blanchard River watershed.

But some were already ahead of the game.

Randy Van Dyne, Findlay's 2nd Ward councilman, said he and five others met March 1 to form a "study group" to come up with recommendations for what kind of public entity should, in the short term, take over flood control work from the Northwest Ohio Flood Mitigation Partnership, which expects to dissolve at the end of this year.

The study group also plans to develop a consensus about a long-term organization that would be in charge of flood projects once they are built, and would collect and oversee funding for their maintenance.

The Flood Mitigation Partnership said officials, particularly those in Hancock and Putnam counties where most flood projects would be built, need to come up with a transition plan by July 1, when the Army Corps of Engineers is scheduled to combine all current flood studies into one general investigation study. That step is needed to secure federal funding to pay for the projects, according to Tony Iriti, Partnership president.

Federal money could pay up to 65 percent of project costs.

Members of the study group include government and public safety representatives, along with farmer Gary Wittenmyer. Other government officials who did not attend the group's March 1 organizational meeting are being invited to attend the next meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the Hancock County Agency on Aging.

Tuesday's public meeting, attended by about 100 people at Owens Community College, was low-key, with officials primarily asking devil's advocate questions about consequences and problems that can occur when handing over flood project control to groups like a conservancy district or a port authority.

Those two groups were suggested as the most viable options for taking over flood control duties, according to representatives from Baker & Daniels, an Indianapolis-based law and consulting firm that the Partnership hired to outline options allowable under Ohio law.

The firm also has been working with the federal government, to help local officials wade through the intricacies of congressional funding.

Scott Chinn of Baker & Daniels said creating a conservancy district, or creating or charging a port authority with the responsibility, could be accomplished by the end of the year.

Influential but non-voting advisory boards could be set up to oversee decisions made by a three-member governing board of a conservancy district, he said. Otherwise, the conservancy district structure is set by law, he said.

"Any structure like that is going to be as good or as bad as the local folks who are pushing it," Chinn said.

The idea of creating a conservancy district has encountered opposition here. Some argued at public meetings last summer that such a group would have too much legal authority and not enough public input under state law.

Conservancy districts "are very efficient and legally powerful structures under the law. But in some sense they are not as open to public scrutiny as other forms of government," said Chinn.

Leigh Esper, Partnership assistant, said Ohio law would allow for a "subdistrict" of the Maumee Conservancy District to be formed. The Maumee district encompasses the Blanchard River watershed. But forming the subdistrict would entail the same actions as forming a new conservancy district, she said.

Lydia Mihalik, grant administrator for the Hancock Regional Planning Commission, pointed out that Maumee district representatives have said they are not interested or equipped to undertake flood control efforts in Hancock and Putnam counties.

Chinn said flood control projects could be managed by separate entities in different municipalities, but it would make getting federal funding difficult and would be "inconsistent with the value of having regional cooperation."

David Gogol, vice chair of the firm's Washington, D.C., consulting arm, said the Army Corps of Engineers would not favor such a fragmented venture.

"The Army Corps is going to expect a long-term organization with the financing viability to enter into a complete plan. Picking and choosing is not something they're going to be comfortable with," Gogol said.

Gogol and Chinn said successful flood control entities they examined in other areas were all multi-jurisdictional groups that work well with everyone from federal and state legislators to emergency management agency leaders.

Baker & Daniels representatives, in response to questions, said officials will have to foresee potential drawbacks to any plan and come up with solutions.

"What we're all struggling with is that balance," said Chinn. "But at some point there's just a choice to be made. Timing certainly dictates prompt action."

Brown: 419-427-8496,

Send an e-mail to Joy Brown


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After fighting a house fire early Monday at 815 Howard St., firefighters found 20 marijuana plants in the residence.

"They ran across it and called us," said police Sgt. Justin Hendren with the Hancock County METRICH Drug Enforcement Unit.

Police seized all 20 plants, and Hendren said charges are pending.

High-powered growing lights, fans, and a box filled with dried marijuana were also found in the house, according to a police report.

Investigators said an electrical short started the fire before 3 a.m. Monday.

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Fletcher began his patrol career in 2002 after graduating from the 139th Academy class and has been assigned to the Findlay post since.

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The Toledo and Findlay campuses of Owens Community College will be closed Saturday through Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

There will be no classes and the college offices will be closed.

Classes will resume and offices will open again on Tuesday.

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