MWCD Officially Files Appraisal of Benefits with Court
The Board of Appraisers of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District has filed the Conservancy Appraisal Record (CAR) reporting future benefits have been appraised at $2.5 billion in the 18-county conservancy district.
The filing is required by Ohio law as part of the process to generate funding for a 20-year, $270 million plan to maintain and improve flood reduction and enhance water quality in the Muskingum River Watershed.
The CAR, which describes all of the parcels affected, the amount of benefits appraised and the amount of estimated yearly assessments, was filed today (March 9) with the Conservancy Court Clerk, in the office of the Tuscarawas County Clerk of Courts. Copies of the CAR for each county will be on file in the offices of the Clerk of Courts of Ashland, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Washington and Wayne counties.
MWCD also will place the CAR on its website at www.mwcd.org, where individual owners can review the estimated annual assessment related to their properties. The CAR is expected to be available online early next week.
The CAR confirms the annual assessment cost for residential and agricultural parcels estimated to be $12, while the benefits appraised for these parcels is more than $2,000.
"The Board of Appraisers has concluded that the benefits from this assessment of the MWCD far exceeds the cost to owners of property in the watershed," said Thomas Roe, president of the MWCD Board of Appraisers. "In plain terms, for each $12 assessment, property owners receive more than $2,000 in benefits."
The CAR also sets forth the appraised benefits and estimated assessments for commercial and industrial properties in the watershed, which will be higher based on the increased amount of runoff from these types of properties.
MWCD estimates the assessment will generate about $12.5 million annually for projects to maintain and improve flood reduction and water quality programs in the watershed. If final approval is given to the plan later this summer, collection of the assessment and projects in the work plan would begin in 2007.
The filing of the appraisal of benefits with the Conservancy Court also provides parcel owners with an opportunity to object to their individual benefit appraisal and estimated assessment, as provided for in Ohio law.
By April 10, property owners subject to the assessment can file an exception (appeal) by providing the Conservancy Court clerk of courts office with their name and mailing address, along with the address and/or parcel number of the parcel in question. All exceptions must be mailed or delivered by so that they are received by April 10 by the MWCD Conservancy Clerk of Courts, care of Tuscarawas County Clerk of Courts, 125 E. High Ave., New Philadelphia, OH 44663.
Hearings of the Conservancy Court to consider the requested exceptions will be scheduled in each county and all property owners who file exceptions are being given notice by publication of the locations and times of the hearings in their counties. Those hearings will begin in mid-April.
According to state law, the appraisal methodology was developed by the three-member MWCD Board of Appraisers. Members of the Conservancy Court, which consists of one common pleas court judge from each of the 18 counties wholly or partially contained in the MWCD jurisdiction, reviewed and approved the methodology of the assessment during a recent meeting.
Residential and agricultural parcels of property serve as the base level for computation of the assessment based on the average amount of runoff they produce.
Commercial and industrial property owners would pay more than residential and agricultural property owners, based on their increased levels of runoff related to the amount of buildings, concrete, asphalt and other impervious areas on their parcels. For example, a one-acre commercial property would pay an assessment of $132 per year.
MWCD is believed to be the only one of 21 active conservancy districts in the state that does not levy and collect a maintenance assessment. The $12-annual assessment for residential and agricultural properties compares favorably with those in the Maumee Conservancy District of $13.26, in the Miami Conservancy District of $86 and in the Hocking Conservancy District of $126.
Since its inception, the MWCD system of dams and reservoirs has prevented more than $6 billion worth of potential property damage from flooding, according to federal government estimates. An independent study of the potential benefits of the MWCD maintenance and improvement plan estimates that once enacted, the region will receive about $2.5 billion in future benefits compared to its initial $270-million investment. The plan also will lead to the protection and creation of jobs with contracts enacted with private firms for much of the work.
By law, funds collected from the MWCD assessment cannot be used to pay for improvements related to recreation programs, such as boat launch ramps, camping facilities and others.
Projects that have been identified to be addressed over the 20-year time period include partnering with the federal government for dam safety improvements, sediment removal, shoreline protection, water quality
improvements, watershed management and reservoir operations. The MWCD manages the reservoirs behind the dams in the system, while the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates the dams.
MWCD officials have been discussing the plan and developing details of the assessment proposal since 2003, when the Court authorized work to begin. In 2005 alone, Conservancy District officials provided details about the plan in more than 40 public meetings and in dozens of presentations to business, social and professional groups and organizations.
Through its 70-plus-year history, the MWCD has operated on revenue generated primarily from the use of its facilities through various fee structures and the stewardship of its natural resources. However, this funding alone cannot address the large-scale needs and costs associated with the aging system.
The 14 MWCD reservoirs are: Atwood in Carroll and Tuscarawas counties; Beach City in Tuscarawas County; Bolivar in Stark and Tuscarawas counties; Charles Mill in Ashland and Richland counties; Clendening in Harrison County; Dover in Tuscarawas County; Leesville in Carroll County; Mohawk in Coshocton and Knox counties; Mohicanville in Ashland and Wayne counties; Piedmont in Belmont, Guernsey and Harrison counties; Pleasant Hill in Ashland and Richland counties; Seneca in Guernsey and Noble counties; Tappan in Harrison County; and Wills Creek in Coshocton and Muskingum counties. Two other reservoirs in the system, Dillon in Muskingum County and North Branch Kokosing in Knox County, were constructed after the original 14 and are operated exclusively by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 18 counties wholly or partially contained in the MWCD region are Ashland, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Wayne and Washington.
For more information, visit www.mwcd.org on the Internet.
