9-8-04

 Council Chambers

    Concerned citizens, Defiance County Commissioners Tom Kime and Otto Nicely and the assistant county engineer Warren Schlatter appeared at Wednesday's meeting of Sherwood Village Council to discuss ongoing flooding problems in town. Most of the meeting was taken up by Schlatter, who discussed possible options for Sherwood to take regarding the flooding, which has plagued the village the last several years.

   For almost an hour and a half, those in attendance discussed the best ways to get rid of the flooding and to pay or such a project. Reports revealed Coy Road ditch was currently functioning at 73 percent of its capacity, while various sewer pipes in the village were functioning at levels of between 12 and 50 percent. Suggested were ditch cleaning and pipe replacement, as well as digging a detention pond which Schlatter said would help, although no one could predict how much."The water is going to move where nature moves it," he stated.

Local resident Jane Garvin said she appreciated the commissioners applying for grant money toward this project.

Sherwood was rejected last year in its application for district and state grants to correct these problems, but council has decided to apply for a 100 percent grant again. Schlatter doubted the village would be able to get a grant to fix the entire problem, but added that the odds for obtaining a no-interest loan for the project were good. If another grant were petitioned, council would be advised of its success or failure sometime next spring

    It was also suggested that affected property owners discuss the best way to deal with the situation. This could include petitioning the commissioners or having the owners accomplish the project themselves and figure out how to pay for it without the need for any governmental assistance. This last scenario, also referred to as mutual help, could prove to ultimately be less expensive since going through government Channels would involve advertising, the prevailing wage law and other aspects.

. "The county has no jurisdiction except where you give us jurisdiction," said Schlatter, and if you give us jurisdiction, you're paying the bill." Nicely also suggested Defiance County Soil and Water examine the problem and make recommendations; , he also mentioned looking into more options via Maumee Valley Planning.

  Further analysis would be needed to determine how much the village would have to pay in a mutual agreement scenario and what Sherwood's property owners, would have to pay.

"Ultimately I'm going to benefit a lot," said Garvin, but this ankle-deep water isn't mine."

In other business, council:

 - heard from local resident Paul Bradley, who wanted to now what will be done with Tax money collected from village residents and asked to see the plans in writing. Council replied that nothing had been set as yet because no one knows just how much money is coming in yet.

- Approved local government monies of $68,585.71 and local government assistance monies of $13,041.09 as revealed by Defiance County treasurer Marlene Goodwin. These are the same amounts as last year.

- Passed a resolution accepting budget commission amounts and authorizing necessary tax levies total of $18,000 will be derived from monies inside the 10-mill limit, with $26,700 outside the limit.

-  Learned that Fort Defiance Construction has sent a $5,600 estimate quote for cleaning out storm sewers on Fountain Street.

-Discussed the Community reinvestment project, which is meant to encourage property investment via remodeling or new construction in areas of town which contain structures of historical significance.

 - Noted that Mayor Clayton Miller remains hospitalized but has been moved out of intensive care.

- Learned that Sherwood is now part of the FEMA flood insurance program; and the village is also part of the state's Cooperative Purchasing Program, which is used for better deals on the purchase of equipment, vehicles and other items.

- Set trick-or-treat for 3:30 p.m. Sunday, October 31.

- Heard that Poggemeyer Design Group has granted final approval of the Sherwood Crossing building addition.