The Athens County Commissioners agreed to sign a permit yesterday allowing the Athens County Engineer's Office to fill in the land surrounding its current location to avoid flooding.
The permit, which allows the land's owner to fill two acres in the floodplain surrounding the engineer's office on East State Street, is intended to make the land more appealing to prospective buyers, said Mike Canterbury, deputy engineer for operations in Athens County. The engineer's office is trying to sell its current office and move to a new location off state Route 50.
Athens County Engineer Archie Stanley said he is considering purchasing a 20- to 33- acre piece of land valued at more than $100,000.
Canterbury said he met with appraiser Larry McDaniels yesterday to get an estimate of what the current property is worth. He said the engineer's office hopes to get enough money from the sale of the current location to buy the new piece of land and build a facility.
Selling the land of the current location to purchase the new land would avoid using taxpayer money for the purchase, Canterbury said.
We are on the fast track and would like to see it pretty quick
he said.
In other business, the commissioners rejected Canterbury's request for a resolution of support for State Issue 1. State Issue 1 is a bond issue that combines State Issue 2 - a program that gives counties money for highway repairs - and The Third Frontier - a state program that gives money to corporations for research and development projects, he said.
Last year, the county received almost $1 million for highway projects out of a possible $7 million awarded to 10 counties in Southeast Ohio.
Canterbury said combining the two issues is an effort to pass both State Issue 2 and The Third Frontier. When both issues were on the ballot separately, urban communities voted for The Third Frontier and rural communities voted for State Issue 2, he said.
Athens County Commissioner Bill Theisen said he didn't like that the bill has no guidelines for giving out money. I am afraid we are going to lose Issue 2 Theisen said.
17
Archives
Andrea Golby
