Council moves on plan for new subdivision

ROCKFORD - The village is finalizing a plat plan for a proposed subdivision west of town.

Village administrator Jeff Long on Tuesday told village council members he had submitted revisions to potential lot divisions to Access Engineering Solutions of Celina. The revisions were a result of discussions at a previous meeting. He is also considering a land swap to improve access to the potential development.

A subdivision has been in the works since the village acquired about 21 acres of land last year from Tom Rogers. Rogers sold the land at $10,000 per acre with the understanding the village will pay $21,206 per year for 10 years. Rogers, who died in July, had said he wanted to finance the sale at no interest to do something for the village.

"There has been a lot of interest in lots so I think you're making the right move in getting this started," Long said on Tuesday. "It's a great section of land and great place to develop. I think it will work."

Previously, officials had said they plan to create 40-60 lots for homes. Now, their initial goal is to develop 12-15 lots, at an estimated cost of $200,000, Long reported. The cost includes utilities, streets and storm sewers.

Long plans to attend the March 21 Dublin Township Trustee meeting to discuss a possible land swap.

"We have some land that goes by their cemetery and I'd like to swap some of that for some of theirs (near the subdivision) so that I can take another road over to a different road for an access road to the subdivision," he said.

Individual lot costs have not yet been determined. The village had previously rented the land out to be farmed.

Once the revised plat plan is received, Long said the next steps will be to work utilities into the design, confirm a cost estimate and pursue financing.

"If we're going to build this, we're going to have to do some sort of financing. I have a couple ideas and we'll look at that and see what we can do," he said.

Grants are not typically awarded for this type of project, he explained after the meeting.

"It would be borrowed money," he said. "We'll be looking for as low an interest rate as we can get."

If all goes according to plan, Long said infrastructure construction might be possible in May. If residents have questions about the subdivision, Long encouraged them to contact him at 419-363-3032, ext. 4.

Council members also,

• learned from Long the wastewater treatment plant project is still on hold as they wait for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to issue a permit for installation of a lift station. He also noted OEPA will require a test of the village's water sooner than expected.

In September 2014, the village was found to be a few micrograms over the limit for copper and lead in the water. At that point, a polyphosphate treatment was added to the plant's process to reduce the metals. In December 2015, tests showed the readings to be beneath detectable levels.

"We were just contacted by the EPA to step up our testing on the lead and copper. With all this attention Flint, Michigan's, got going on, I think the EPA is nervous. They want to make sure everyone's complying," Long said. "We really wouldn't have to test again until June but they called and asked that we would do it quicker and I said 'no problem.' "

The results should be available soon and he hopes another round of undetectable levels will lead to decreased testing requirements, Long said. Each round of testing costs the village about $1,100.

• were introduced by police chief Paul May to new auxiliary officer Steven Stose, who had been a reserve Mercer County Sheriff's deputy. As an auxiliary officer, council action was not required and Stose was sworn in after the meeting.