BOWLING GREEN — A sweeping drainage improvement project that sprawls over 28 miles in three counties and could cost $2.4 million drew hundreds of property owners to the Wood County Fairgrounds on Tuesday.
The commissioners for Wood, Ottawa, and Sandusky counties held a public hearing on the Packer Creek Ditch improvement project at the Junior Fair Building, 13800 W. Poe Rd. The meeting had been moved from the commissioners hearing room to the fairgrounds to accommodate the expected large crowd. About 200 were in the audience.
After almost three hours of comments, all nine commissioners voted unanimously to move the ditch project to the next phase.
This means that the engineers’ final reports on costs and how to proceed will be due Dec. 15, 2026, said Craig LaHote, chairman of the Wood County commissioners.
Wood County commissioner Doris Herringshaw said this is a preliminary step in the process.
“This is a very difficult decision, and it is one that we take very seriously and put a lot of thought into it, and listen to all of your comments,” she said.
Mr. LaHote said the ditch cleanup was first petitioned April 29, 1944. There were some lawsuits and the issue dragged into the 1950s and ‘60s, he said.
In 1983, Genoa officials expressed flooding concerns, but no petition was ever filed, Mr. LaHote said. There were more investigations and complaints, but there was never a formal petition to clean the ditch until now, he said.
John Musteric, Wood County engineer, said the ditch has been a problem for decades, but has recently garnered more attention from property owners in the area.
“We have received multiple calls from this watershed wanting this ditch to be cleaned, especially in the last couple years,” he said.
The total length of the project is 150,420 feet or 28.49 miles. The watershed contains 26,634 acres and 3,010 parcels of land.
The major length of the project is 15 miles in Wood County, and that’s why Wood is the lead county, Mr. Musteric said.
Pros of doing the project include the watercourse will be maintained in perpetuity, rather than be a burden on the agricultural, residential, or government communities, Mr. Musteric said.
The potential for water damage during an unusual rain event will be reduced, and maintenance assessments will only be imposed when monies are needed to perform maintenance tasks on the watercourse.
Also, the plat of the project would be recorded as a permanent record.
The cons, Mr. Musteric said, are that assessments to landowners are never popular.
Duane Abke, construction coordinator for Wood County, said $91 per acre could be assessed.
“That’s a real, real rough number,” Mr. Abke said. “We’re not talking thousands and thousands of dollars, especially for the residential parcels.”
Mr. Abke said engineers flew a drone over the site and drove the length of it.
“We found a lot of logjams, a lot of obstructions. There’s trash in the ditch, there’s a little of everything,” he said. “That’s one of the things that we’ve got to do is get those out and keep that stream flowing.”
The work over the next few months and years, Mr. Abke said, could include a hydraulic study, to learn what is causing the backup, and an ecological survey for water quality. This will require a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit, which could take two years to obtain, he said.
One by one, for almost two hours, dozens of audience members approached a podium and talked about how the proposed project could affect them.
Chad Gargas, of Genoa, said he is a fifth-generation farmer in the area, and six of his family members signed the petition to get the ditch cleaned.
“Let’s pretend that Packer Creek was a new car in 1850, around the same time the majority of this area was settled,” Mr. Gargas said. “The engine has been running for 174 years with no formal, organized, or routine maintenance.”
“The engine is long overdue for an oil change,” he said.
Paul Goodman, also of Genoa, said his farm is impacted by the creek flooding. Just last week, he spent five days pumping out water, he said.
“I’m very, very much in favor of attempting to get something done,” he said.
There were concerns about the potential costs.
Roy Miller, of Bowling Green, said he is a retiree on a fixed income.
“How am I going to pay for this?” he asked.
Robert Geiser, of Graytown, asked if federal help was available.
“I’m more concerned with the aftereffects,” said Brady Hineline, of Genoa.
A third of a mile of the creek runs through his property, which has a 1/2 acre of woods, he said.
“I know it needs cleaned, I get it,” he said. “I need to know that the cleanup after the cleanup is going to be addressed.”
The county officials said the ditch would need continued maintenance that would be assessed.
Laura Bolander, a Graytown resident, read off dozens of headlines about flooding, pollution, and legal tussles in the creek area dating back to 1899.
“I shouldn’t have to pay for this,” she said.
“There has to be a petition process and that’s why we’re here,” Mr. LaHote said.
Pam Williams, of Martin, said the petition asking for the cleaning is not valid.
Of the 102 names, she said there were dozens that she could not locate through people or property searches.
Ronald Lajti, Jr., an Ottawa County commissioner, said the petition only needs one individual to start the process.
“If one person can’t get the problem solved on their own, they have an out,” he said.
“So, one person is going to make 3,000 people pay for the problem?” Ms. Williams said.
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