Engineer's report prompts commissioners to dismiss long-running drainage petition

The Franklin County Board of Commissioners dismissed a multi-year petition to improve the ODOT ArgiBright ditch watershed after a final hearing on June 16, following a recommendation from the county engineer’s office.

Nick Sulis, government affairs liaison for County Engineer Adam Fowler, described the petition’s history, said the estimated project cost was approximately $1,600,000 and told commissioners that property owners had installed private tile and other improvements that alleviated flooding concerns in the area. Sulis said many original petition signers had withdrawn their support and the engineer recommended setting aside the board’s December 6, 2022 order to proceed.

"Based upon all of those factors, it is a recommendation of the Franklin County engineer that this petition be dismissed," Sulis said, explaining the engineer did not believe the benefits would outweigh the assessed cost to property owners.

Janine Hummer, counsel with the prosecutor's office, told the board the prosecutor’s office reviewed the recommendation and saw very little county liability associated with the dismissal. Property owners’ attorney Nicholas Vesha said his clients — identified in the record as Kathleen Myers, Deborah Blackwell and Curtis Hughes — agreed with the recommendation and asked the board to adopt it.

The board admitted the engineer’s report and the property owners’ written submission into the record, moved to adopt a resolution setting aside the prior order and dismissing the petition with zero assessments, and the resolution was adopted in a roll-call voice vote. Commissioners noted the dismissal does not foreclose property owners from petitioning again if flooding recurs.