Lucas County holds public hearing on proposed Sylvania Township sewer extension with $29,000 tentative assessment

Lucas County commissioners opened a public hearing under Ohio Revised Code section 6,117.06 on a proposed sanitary sewer improvement for Forest Hill Drive and Woodridge Drive in Sylvania Township. County sanitary engineer Nate Incrott presented plans, cost estimates and a tentative assessment and said the assessable portion is "roughly 29,000, just over $29,000, per unit" spread over a 20‑year period.

The presentation outlined additional expected costs beyond the assessable project estimate, including a county sewer‑lateral fee of $1,200 to connect from the new main to a home and septic abandonment work the county estimated at roughly $2,500–$3,000. Incrott told commissioners and residents the county would calculate final costs after construction, add interest determined when the county bonds the project, and then send final assessment notices; staff used example interest scenarios of about 3–5 percent in materials provided to attendees.

Residents who spoke at the podium urged the board to consider affordability and local septic replacement costs. Carolyn Schmelt, of 5441 Woodridge Drive, said she has maintained a working septic system and objected to the sewer extension on the record: "I like my water. Never had a problem with the septi." Another nearby homeowner, speaking from 5429 Woodridge Drive, said a worst‑case septic replacement estimate for their four‑bedroom house was about $22,000 and said that comparison left them "strongly against" the project at the proposed per‑parcel assessment.

County staff described hardship deferments for qualifying owners — typically a 50 percent deferment of the assessable amount — and said the deferred portion becomes due when the property is sold; the assessable portion would remain on the tax duplicate and be collected over 20 years. Incrott emphasized that actual interest will depend on the bond the county issues when it goes to market.

A health department official clarified how the septic‑tap requirement operates: while state code requires tapping where sewer is "available and accessible," the local board of health has recently adopted a policy for some projects to allow inspection and to permit functional septic systems to remain in place until they fail or the property sells. That local policy, the official said, is discretionary and applied as a result of a local board resolution in recent projects.

No formal action was taken at the hearing. The chair repeatedly stated the board would not decide the matter at that session and announced a five‑day written‑objection window established under ORC 6,117.06; members may take up the matter at a meeting on or after the date stated in the record. Residents were given the opportunity to submit written objections or endorsements to the Board of County Commissioners' office by the deadline recorded in the meeting.

The commission's next procedural step is to consider any written objections and then determine whether to proceed with the assessment and the construction schedule described by county staff.