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 MWCD Board Tours Buckeye Trail Barn at Tappan Lake An old barn at Tappan Lake has been given new life thanks to the work of the members of the Buckeye Trail Association. For the past few years, BTA members have spent thousands of volunteer hours restoring and converting the barn located near Tappan Lake Park in Harrison County for eventual use for BTA meetings, group picnics, overnight stays and other events. Tappan Lake is part of the 1,250-mile hiking trail that covers 40 of Ohio’s 88 counties, connects the four corners of the state and is the only long-distance trail located entirely within Ohio’s borders. During their regular monthly meeting today (Sept. 23) held at the barn, members of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District Board of Directors took a tour of the renovated structure. BTA leases the barn and surrounding property from the MWCD. BTA member Rick Adamson said that volunteers and donations have enabled the work at the barn to continue at a rapid pace. “We have received donations of $6,500 for the work here and more than 6,000 hours of volunteer work to date has been completed,” Adamson said. “We have had numerous Eagle Scout projects completed and had interest from others who have watched the work continue to progress.” Some of the projects completed since work has begun include the following, according to Adamson:
Adamson said original construction of the barn was completed in 1888 and all of the interior beams are authentic and were cleaned through powerwashing. He added that plans call for up to 40 people to be able to sleep in the barn once all work is completed. In another matter, MWCD Board members approved an agreement with a software company used by most of the county auditors’ offices in the MWCD’s 18-county region for ease of program development for implementation of a planned assessment by the Conservancy District. The agreement between MWCD and the software company Manatron will produce a pilot project for various billing systems utilized by the counties and will permit the counties to manage the MWCD assessment billings as a routine part of their normal operations, according to James B. Cugliari, MWCD chief financial officer/treasurer. Work on the pilot project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2007 and will cost the MWCD more than $33,890. The MWCD has proposed to implement a 20-year assessment collected from property owners in the region for maintenance and improvements of the system of reservoirs and dams originally constructed in the 1930s for flood reduction and water conservation in the Muskingum River Basin. By law, the individual assessment billings are prepared and collected through the offices of the county auditors and treasurers. Cugliari said the MWCD is not legally bound to assist the county offices in their preparations for the eventual assessment program, but he believes taking the steps beyond the normal scope of services in providing the assessment to the auditors and treasurers is necessary. “The MWCD will be working directly with the third-party vendor (Manatron) in this agreement,” Cugliari said. “Our goal is to provide assistance to our county auditors and to minimize the impact and burden on their offices.” The MWCD hopes to begin collection of the assessment in 2008 to fund an estimated $270 million worth of projects in the basin. In other business, the Board:
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