Council authorizes local share for U.S. Army Corps Hocking River study to improve ecology and safety at White's Mill Falls

Council reviewed and introduced an ordinance to authorize the city’s local share of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study of the Hocking River, which the administration said is intended to improve river ecology, recreation and safety.

“It's a roughly $808,100 — close to $900,000 bill ultimately for this,” the Service Safety Director told the planning and development committee. Under the Corps’ Section 1135 authority, the federal government pays the first $100,000 and the remaining cost is split 50-50, the director said; the city’s local share is $386,753 and will be paid across three years.

Administration told council the study will fund environmental and preliminary design work to make the river a better habitat and improve recreation (paddling, kayaking and canoeing) and to address safety concerns at White’s Mill Falls. “One of the major reasons I embarked on this … was trying to find outside money to improve conditions there and make those falls more safe,” the director said.

Why it matters: The study is preparatory work to qualify for future federal construction funding. It does not itself authorize construction; rather, it creates the environmental review, preliminary engineering and design needed to pursue federal funding for later projects.

Action and budget: Administration said it has budgeted and will pay portions in 2024 and 2025, with the remainder to be placed in the 2026 budget. The ordinance introduced Monday authorizes the director to expend up to $386,753 from stormwater-related funds as the city’s local share.

What’s next: The study will proceed under Corps of Engineers processes and timelines; administration will proceed with the three-year payment plan and seek further federal funding for construction-phase work once the study and preliminary designs are complete.