Lucas County commissioners approve findings to advance Big Coulee Ditch improvement petition

The Lucas County Board of Commissioners on a county agenda vote approved findings to advance Petition No. 1095 for improvements to the Big Coulee Ditch in Jerusalem Township, directing the county engineer to conduct surveys, prepare plans, maps and profiles, and calculate estimated assessments to support design work.

Engineer Panuski told commissioners this was the first hearing to "establish purpose and need" and to determine whether the project meets the face‑of‑it requirements to proceed with design. He said the proposal is a riparian renovation of about 1.2 miles of ditch and that construction would be paid with an H2Ohio grant of $913,000. "Essentially, it's to clean and essentially do a riparian renovation project on 1.2 miles of that ditch," Panuski said.

Panuski described an "overwide" channel approach that will lower and widen the bottom, allow the stream to reestablish its own course within the new footprint, provide banks flared to roughly 2.5:1, a roughly 10‑foot buffer strip at the top of bank, and a maintenance easement above that strip. He said the county provided mailed notice to properties within the watershed and that the notice list can narrow as design clarifies which parcels actually drain to the ditch.

Resident Dale Bartley of 8549 Jerusalem Road spoke at the hearing, raising concerns that widening the west end could cause water to "flow back to the lake." He also asked how lost cropland would be reimbursed and whether compensation would be a one‑time payment or based on a multi‑year average. "Our concern is if you're widening out the west end, the water's gonna flow back to the lake," Bartley said.

Panuski replied that landowners are compensated for the value of the land between the current top of bank and the proposed top of bank at appraised value, and that the county pays crop allowances and damage compensation for temporary easements or stockpile locations used during construction. He said construction costs will be covered by the H2Ohio grant and therefore there will be no construction assessment to property owners; however, future maintenance assessments may be levied to adjoining property owners in the watershed. Panuski noted that the overwide/self‑forming channel design typically reduces long‑term maintenance needs.

Following the hearing, the commissioners voted to approve the findings and to direct the Lucas County Engineer to proceed with surveys, plans, maps, profiles and estimated assessments to support the improvement. The motion to approve was made by Commissioner Gerken and passed on a roll call vote of yes from Commissioner Gerken, Commissioner Lopez and Commissioner Cabecki.

Next steps are for the county engineer to complete surveys and prepare detailed design documents and an assessments schedule; the hearing record notes that additional, narrower notices will be sent as design refines which properties drain to the ditch.