Monday, May 03, 1999
Middletown touts new sewers
City: Project would benefit area at I-75
BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MIDDLETOWN — The benefits of a $1.1 million sanitary sewer project planned this year for the city's east end near Interstate 75 and Middletown Crossings will be twofold, said Andy Braun, city engineer.
It will replace the temporary lift station and sewers for part of that area, which are at capacity, and likely will be the catalyst for development in an adjoining section annexed to the city in 1997, Mr. Braun said.
“It's essential that we proceed with this as soon as possible,” he said. The lift station and those sewers must be replaced, and getting the sewer to the east of I-75 is the key to development there.
The goal is to get the Dick's Creek project finished by the end of the year, but there is one stumbling block. One property owner, Eleanor Talbot, has not agreed to sell land needed for an easement for the sewer, Mr. Braun said. Negotiations are continuing and a settlement would be the preferred choice. But if no agreement is reached by the May 18 city commission meeting, commissioners are expected to approve filing a lawsuit to appropriate the needed land.
The city needs an estimated 20-foot-wide easement for the sanitary sewer, and another 30-foot temporary easement for construction on the property, just south of Middletown Crossings, Mr. Braun said.
Mrs. Talbot has declined the city's offer of $17,360, the appraised value of the land, so that amount will be deposited with the court as part of the appropriation process, he said.
David Bart, Mrs. Talbot's Centerville attorney, said negotiations are continuing.
“We're negotiating over a total development package with the city. This is just one cog of the overall development scheme, which includes the extension of Towne Boulevard,” Mr. Bart said. “We're still apart on the easement for the sanitary sewer, but we're hopeful of an agreement without it going to court.”
Mr. Braun said Mrs. Talbot apparently wants to see the Towne Boulevard extension proceeding before agreeing to the easement. It was put on hold earlier this year because the city and the property own ers could not reach an agreement.
“The property owners were not ready to take on the assessments at that time because there was no assurance of a development moving forward,” Mr. Braun said.
Undeveloped land in the area includes some that is zoned for commercial professional use, and some for industrial use along Union Road.
“There is a general push for sewers that will serve the east-end development,” Mr. Braun said. “There isn't any pending development where someone is saying, "We're going to break ground the day those sewers are in.' But there is certainly talk that this is a prime development area, and people say they hope sewers get put in soon so they can move ahead with plans.”
The sewer project has three phases, but all will likely be bid together. Phase one, which will eliminate the lift station and take sewers out to I-75, is the one involved in the appropriation case. The city and the property owners, including those in Middletown Crossings, will share that cost.
Phase two will run the sewer under I-75. Phase three will be to run the sewer from the east side of I-75 up to the intersection of Ohio 122 and Union Road.
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