By Kimberly Gasuras
CCN Reporter
SULPHUR SPRINGS — Liberty Township trustees and residents made their way to the Liberty Township Fire Hall on Tuesday evening to learn their options when it comes to water service in Sulphur Springs, the Stetzer Road area from Stephanie Drive to Ohio 602 and Annapolis-DeKalb Road.
A resolution was approved by Bucyrus City Council in March that would allow the city to take over the legal side of the county’s sewer district.
The resolution will allow Bucyrus Law Director Rob Ratliff to enter into a representation agreement with the Crawford County Sewer District for the assignment of its legal rights.
Ratliff has said if the city takes over the water supply agreement between the city and the county, instead of waiting until the debt is paid off for waterlines already serving county residents, the city then has the authority to stop other entities from entering certain districts in the county to provide water to residents.
A plan to secure water service through the North Ohio Rural Water District already is in the works with approval by the Environmental Protection Agency.
John Albers of the Albers and Albers Law Firm was on hand to answer questions and inform the residents of their options.
“As I understand it, it appears to me that Northern Ohio Rural Water (NORW) has included in its jurisdictional area, the township so it is included in its district. The district has completed final design plans and gone out to bid with disappointing results,” Albers said.
According to Shawn Tappel, general manager for NORW, only one bid was submitted and it was extremely high.
“Our estimate is about $750,000 and the only bid came in at $1.95 million,” Tappel said. “Contractors are busy this time of year. This may end up becoming a winter project as we are planning to go back out for bid in late summer or early fall.”
The Bucyrus City Administration has expressed interest in providing water for the township but Albers said that NORW has the superior right to provide water service since the EPA already has approved the project.
“Crawford County has the authority to provide water service, but not the exclusive right to do so,” Albers said.
Albers said that the county and city have co-authority to provide the service along with NORW.
Albers said the only way the city would have exclusive rights to provide service would be if the area was annexed into the city and that cannot be done without either a majority of property owners wanting to annex or individual property owners signing up to have their property annexed into the city.
Resident Rick Beck said the county sewer district was formed in the 1970s, but now the city wants to take it over.
Albers said that the way it sounds to him, NORW has superior rights to provide service since the engineering of the project already is complete and the district already has gone out for bids.
During a meeting with Crawford County Commissioners a few weeks ago, Crawford County Prosecutor Matt Crall said he wanted the public to know that no entity has been given the rights by the county to take control of the existing waterlines in Liberty Township, at this time.
“The county wants to get out of the water business,” Crall said. “It’s been decided that the county isn’t suited for it.”
NORW already provides water service to customers in New Washington, Tiro and Chatfield with projects starting south of Chatfield in Liberty and Holmes townships.