Friends of Lower Muskingum River meeting focuses on green space project
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MARIETTA -- An empty seat was hard to find Wednesday night as residents of Washington County gathered in support of the Friends of Lower Muskingum River at the Rickey Science Center on the Marietta College campus.
Katy Lustofin, president of the organization's board, and Tiffany Harvey, its executive director, gave the public information about their proposed green space project near Cutler.
During the Feb. 21 Washington County commissioners meeting, Harvey requested the commissioners give their approval for her organization's project. The project entails the purchase of 223 acres at 3001 Graham Road to be used as a public green space for the residents of Washington County. Harvey said the land could be used for hiking, biking, rock climbing and create a pollinator area for insects.
Harvey said the majority of the funding for the property, which is listed at $390,000, would come from the Clean Ohio Fund. According to its website, the Clean Ohio Fund restores, protects and connects Ohio's important natural and urban places by preserving green space and farmland, improving outdoor recreation, and cleaning up brownfields to encourage redevelopment and revitalize communities.
The fund would give up to 75 percent of the cost of the land and requires the Washington County commissioners and the Fairfield Township trustees to approve the project before FLMR could apply. The commissioners didn't sign off on the proposal.
In a March 2 article in the Marietta Times, Commissioner Kevin Ritter said there will be a loss of tax revenue if the land is sold to the non-profit, as it can file with the state to be exempt.
"As a commissioner, I'm supposed to do what I can to support building that tax base," he said.
It was originally reported the annual taxes on the property were close to $1,000 a year.
"It's actually closer to $2,000," said Harvey.
In the same article, Commissioner David White said he was reluctant to pay for the project with taxpayer dollars.
Lustofin said the taxpayers have already spoken on whether or not they desire the funds to be used in the county. During the presentation, it was shown that in 2008, 62 percent of Washington County voters supported the start of the Clean Ohio Fund.
"(The commissioners) are elected to do what their constituents want," Lustofin said.
Harvey said the Clean Ohio Fund separates the state into 19 districts. Washington County is in district 18 that also consists of Athens, Belmont, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble and Perry counties. She said the fund allocated $1,993,431 for the year, to be added to the carry over funds giving district 18 a total of $4,137,952 waiting to be spent.
Harvey said another concern she has heard is the selling of the land if FLMR happened to close its doors in the future.
"Under the Clean Ohio Fund, you cannot sell it. You can't make any money off of it," she said. "We would have to give it to another non-profit."
Harvey said she encouraged any resident of Washington County that is 18 or over to sign their petition on the Friends of Lower Muskingum River's Facebook page to help convince the commissioners to change their minds about the project.
"We already have over 300 people that have signed it," she said.
Harvey also said the latest the FLMR can apply for the Clean Ohio Fund is April 12 at 4 p.m.
"We would like to get the support of our commissioners ASAP, so we can get the process underway," she said.