        
   |
||
 |
 MWCD Board schedules routine business meeting Aug. 17 The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) Board of Directors will meet in regular, open session this Friday (Aug. 17) at 9 a.m. in the New Philadelphia City Council chambers. The meeting is the regular monthly business session of the five-member Board and will not involve any consideration by the Board of a levy of an assessment by the MWCD, said Darrin Lautenschleger, MWCD public affairs manager. New Philadelphia City Council chambers is located inside city hall at 150 E. High Ave. Members of the Board of Directors also possibly will hold a special meeting sometime after Aug. 20, when a court ruling is expected on the MWCD’s plan of maintenance for the Muskingum River Watershed’s system of reservoirs and dams. A ruling by the Conservancy Court that finds the projected benefits are greater than the anticipated costs in the MWCD’s plan will allow the MWCD Board of Directors to consider levying an assessment of property owners to fund the maintenance work. The date, time and location of any special meeting will be announced soon after the Conservancy Court ruling is filed, Lautenschleger said. The MWCD had said earlier this month that it would reschedule its Aug. 17 Board of Directors meeting, but decided to go ahead with the meeting and handle regular business items only at that session. Meetings of the MWCD Board of Directors are public meetings and comply with the provisions of the state’s open meetings law. The MWCD, a political subdivision of the state, was organized in 1933 to develop and implement a plan for flood reduction and water conservation in the Muskingum River Watershed. By 1938, 14 reservoirs and dams were constructed. According to the MWCD’s plan, an estimated $10.5 million annually would be generated from property owners in the MWCD region for public health and safety projects to safeguard the system of reservoirs and dams. Since construction of the system of reservoirs and dams, billions of dollars in potential property damage have been saved from flooding. In a study of the watershed, national, state and local experts and agencies identified more than $200 million worth of needed projects in the system’s aging infrastructure that are the responsibility of the MWCD. The counties wholly or partially contained in the MWCD jurisdiction are Ashland, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Washington and Wayne. More information about the MWCD can be found at www.mwcd.org
|
 |
