Lucas County commissioners approve vacations of two Springfield Township streets, OK Wolpert orthoimagery contract and final plat sureties

Lucas County Commissioners on May (date not specified in the meeting transcript) held a public hearing and approved vacating portions of Toledo Waseon Road and Clarion Avenue in Springfield Township, awarded a $120,464 professional services contract to Wolpert for an orthoimagery project and approved final plats and escrow agreements for the Village Of The Green Plat 1 in Waterville Township.

County Engineer Michael told the commissioners the first vacation, of a portion of Toledo Waseon Road, mainly serves as a driveway for the Douglas Company and provides access for a second propertyholder identified as Haines. Michael said the roadway meets neither the Ohio Revised Code threshold for a public roadway—“you have to have at least 5 properties in the first half mile”—nor the pattern of multiple owners required for a public right-of-way. He said both property owners favor the vacation and that the action will establish an access easement for Haines over the vacated roadway. Michael summarized: “So, today is basically to do vacations of 2 roadways. We'll start with the first 1. Toledo Waseon Road. So this essentially is the driveway to the Douglas company.”

On the Clarion Avenue item, Michael described the segment as an old interurban right-of-way that has been a “paper street” and not in use for at least 21 years. He said the property owners requested the vacation so the grass lot could revert to adjacent owners and be incorporated into private yards. A resident, Ronnie Jones of 6426 South Avenue, spoke during public comment seeking information about changing a parcel address tied to the vacated right-of-way. Jones asked, “Is there any way that I could do a address change, or is that impossible?” County staff answered that once the roadway is vacated the parcels can be combined through the auditor’s office and the owner may choose which address to keep, but cautioned to get a tax analysis first because combining parcels can affect assessments and property taxes.

Separately, the board approved a professional services agreement with Wolpert Associates for an orthoimagery project in the amount of $120,464. County staff said several partner agencies and jurisdictions will reimburse portions of that cost, reducing the county engineer’s office share. The board also approved final plats and county engineer escrow agreements in lieu of a performance bond for Village Of The Green Plat 1 in Waterville Township; the meeting transcript lists a pavement bond of $12.50 and a sediment/erosion control escrow of $43,169 as recorded in the meeting minutes.

The clerk called the roll on a motion that covered the listed agenda items (vacations and the agreements). Commissioners Civecki, Kirkin and Lopez voted yes and the motion carried.

Why this matters: Vacating a roadway can change property boundaries, municipal service access and postal addressing; the orthoimagery contract provides updated aerial imagery used for planning and parcel mapping; final plat approvals and escrow agreements are the last step before new subdivisions proceed to construction and housing development.

The board adjourned and scheduled its next meeting for May at 11 a.m. (date not specified in the transcript).