Hearings to precede private sewer line projects

Property owners along Dobbins Road were assessed without input.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The Mahoning County District Board of Health will ask county commissioners to require that affected property owners be notified of cost assessments for privately financed sanitary sewers.
Currently, there are requirements for public hearings and notifications of affected property owners in publicly funded sanitary sewer projects, but none for private projects, said Matthew Stefanak, county health commissioner.
He said commissioners have been present when the matter was discussed and have not objected to the concept. Stefanak said the next step is to make an appointment with commissioners and formally present the proposal.
The issue arose because of complaints from property owners, affected by a development along Dobbins Road in Poland Township, that they were assessed without an opportunity to have input into the assessment process, Stefanak said.
Under Ohio Revised Code 307.73, developers can recover some of the cost of running privately installed sewers from the property owners that benefit. County commissioners have the authority to impose so-called "307" assessments under state laws that require people to tie in to sewers if they are available within 200 feet of the right of way of the sewer, Stefanak said. It is at that point that the county health department becomes involved by enforcing the state's tie-in law.
What resulted
As a result of the concerns of Dobbins Road property owners, the board of health delayed an order requiring that they connect to the sewer line within 180 days while the matter was investigated. The result is the recommendation by the health board's ethics committee of what it calls a "community right-to-know" document.
Adopted Thursday by the health board, the document recommends that before county commissioners allow a private developer to construct sewer lines, they require the county sanitary engineer to have two public meetings, one when commissioners receive a request from a developer, and again before they authorize the collection of cost assessments.
Affected property owners and the political subdivision would receive written notice of the meetings; and the developer or his representative would be required to explain the project and present the cost of installing the lines.
On Thursday, the board re-instated its 180-day tie-in order to the 14 Dobbins Road property owners affected by the DJD & amp;C Development project.
Budget adopted
In other action, the board adopted a projected $5.4 million 2007 budget. Stefanak said about 50 percent of the health district's revenue comes from state and federal grants; 30 percent is generated by fees for services; and 20 percent comes from local property taxes.
The board elected Dr. Stephanie Dewar and Leonard A. Perry as president and vice president, respectively, for one year.
alcorn@vindy.com