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ABC water district to start charging Boardman, Canfield residents
BOARDMAN
The ABC Water and Storm Water District continues its efforts to get up and running, with plans to begin charging residents of Boardman and Canfield townships a storm-water utility fee sometime next year, according to district board members.
The annual fee property owners will pay has yet to be determined.
The board’s determination will be based on the findings of an engineering study authorized by the board last year and conducted by CDM Smith, which will calculate a rate based on equivalent residential units. ERUs are calculated based on the amount of impervious surfaces on a property. Property owners will be assessed a fee per ERU that they own.
Canfield and Boardman townships are facing aging stormwater infrastructure, since many systems were built in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s when the communities were developing, Boardman Township Administrator Jason Loree and Canfield Township Administrator Keith Rogers said.
“It’s like a never-ending battle of old infrastructure that needs to be taken care of,” Loree said. “Boardman is very sensitive to stormwater projects and stormwater problems. And this district is something that can help tremendously in overcoming hurdles the townships have faced over the years.”
The townships are responsible for maintaining stormwater infrastructure, which includes systems such as catch basins, stormwater lines, and township-owned detention and retention basins.
“What this district would do is maintain that infrastructure, improve that infrastructure and build new infrastructure,” Loree said.
The district would not undertake projects on private property, but, Loree said, it could get involved if multiple properties were affected.
The ABC district was formed in 2009 by Austintown, Boardman and Canfield townships to deal with stormwater issues in the participating communities, but it has yet to become functional. Board members include township administrators for the three participating townships — Michael Dockry of Austintown, Rogers of Canfield and Loree of Boardman.
Austintown, though officially part of the district, will not participate in the stormwater utility component, a decision Dockry said was made about two years ago.
“At that time, we were putting levies on the ballot,” he said. “We just weren’t willing to ask [residents] at that time to pay that money” for the stormwater utility.
One of the biggest advantages of forming a storm-water district, Loree and Rogers said, is that the district will be eligible for federal grant money.
“That’s a huge advantage for both Canfield and Boardman, because the townships alone cannot go for those federal dollars,” Loree said.
Loree said the board has some ideas about initial projects, such as one on the border of the two townships that would benefit both Canfield and Boardman.
“We’re going to look for projects where both communities can benefit,” he said.
Rogers said Canfield Township is waiting to find out the outcome of an Ohio Supreme Court case before it proceeds with the stormwater utility. The case is about the legality of regional water and sewer districts handling stormwater and charging a fee for that.
Public informational meetings will take place in both townships before property owners are assessed the utility fee.