BLUE ASH - The city will pay SilverHawke Construction $125,000 to settle a lawsuit over a contract dispute involving a sanitary sewer project in 2001.

The Fairfield company, which also uses the name Okind Inc., filed suit against the city last year in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, asking for $266,345.91 in additional charges.

SilverHawke officials claimed the work exceeded their original bid because construction plans changed when they discovered that site conditions differed from what the city's geotechnical consultant represented.

The city's delay in acquiring needed property easements also put the project behind schedule and required SilverHawke to add extra crews to complete the job on time, the complaint said.

Blue Ash officials had countersued SilverHawke, blamed delays and construction changes on the company, and said SilverHawke failed to follow the contractual procedure for resolving the money dispute. Council approved the settlement Thursday.

Deerfield Twp. OKs Shoppes' 2nd phase

DEERFIELD TWP. - Trustees have approved a revised plan for the rest of the controversial Shoppes of Deerfield development.

Trustees are following the zoning commission's recommendations and are allowing 94,000 square feet of office space, two restaurants and a bank to be built on the northern part of the Mason-Montgomery Road site. Zoning commissioners had denied earlier plans, which included retail and restaurants, and the developer withdrew the idea before trustees voted on it.

Trustees in June approved plans for the south part of the Shoppes of Deerfield development, which included a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Both the north and south sites were approved with conditions.

Morrow sets hearing on development

MORROW - This Warren County village is hosting a public hearing to get comments about a proposed development that, if approved, could double the community's population of 1,370 people.

The hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 4 at Village Hall, 150 Pike St.

Plans call for 900 single-family houses and an undetermined number of condos to be built on about 425 acres of a former ski resort.

Clermont's museums holding open houses

To show off the history of the county, the Clermont County Collaborative of Historical Societies is hosting a Historic Museum Day in October. Admission to 12 Clermont County museums will be free.

On Sunday, Oct. 3, from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m., the museums run by the historical societies in these communities will be open: Loveland, Goshen Township, Milford, Owensville, Harmony Hill, Amelia, Bethel, New Richmond and Monroe Township. Grant's Birthplace in Point Pleasant and East Fork State Park also will be open.

For more information, call one of the local historical societies or call the Clermont County Historical Society at 753-8672.

City ready to increase cost of ambulance run

NORTH COLLEGE HILL - A trip to the emergency room from this Hamilton County suburb could soon become a little more costly.

City Council this week heard the first of three readings for an ordinance that would raise ambulance fees from $175 to $350. If approved, this would be the first increase for emergency medical services since 1996.

Officials said the city would use a form of "soft billing," which means that insurance companies - not residents - would be billed. The city uses a private billing firm, whose fee is about 8 percent of the money collected.

Under the soft billing program, insurance companies would be sent three bills. If the fee is not paid after three attempts the money would not be collected.

Contributors: James Pilcher, Sheila McLaughlin, Erica Solvig, Reid Forgrave