Hinckley trustees continue to discuss bringing public water to town center

HINCKLEY TWP. — The Hinckley Township trustees are working to determine how many people near town center would be interested in extending public water to the area. Town center, which surrounds the intersection of Center Road and Ridge Road, currently uses well water but would use county water through the Medina County Soil and Water District if the project goes through. Trustee Melissa Augustine has said at previous meetings that she hears about issues with water in the area. During Tuesday's board meeting, Trustee Monique Ascherl said she and Medina County Sanitary Engineer Jeremy Sinko drafted a letter of interest to be sent to people who would be affected by the possible expansion. The letter states that the property owners would be responsible for the associated costs, which is estimated to be tens of thousands of dollars for each parcel. It would be placed on the property tax over a span of 20 years. An estimated 65 parcels would be affected by the project. "(Sinko) also could not provide the list to me of people that have petitioned the county since he came to the township (meeting) in November," Ascherl said. "However, he said he believes the number is zero people who have reached out to the county asking for water since November." Property owners will respond to the letter, and if the overwhelming response from residents is in favor of extending water, the request would be brought to the commissioners, Ascherl said. The project is not included in the Medina County Commissioners' 10-year plan. The letter is still a draft and will be addressed further at a later date, Chairman Jack Swedyk said. Jennifer Brown from CT Consultants also attended Tuesday's meeting to discuss the township working with her company to seek grant opportunities for the project. She suggested looking to organizations like the Ohio Public Works Commission and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for possible funding opportunities. Swedyk and Ascherl decided not to hire CT Consultants. Swedyk said it is important to know if the people affected are even interested in the project first. "I think without any kind of clear information on what (the) return on that investment would be, it's like well, you got to make the bet before you know what you get out of it," he said. Augustine advocated for exploring grant opportunities while sending a letter of interest out simultaneously. She said it is important for affected property owners to be aware that the township is considering exploring ways to fund the project through grants. "I think the problem comes in that we need to communicate to our residents and business owners what we're actually doing here," she said. "It's not just a yes or no. It's the township is looking into it. We are doing our due diligence. We are exploring other opportunities." According to the results of the most recent comprehensive plan survey, about 57 percent of respondents said they would favor public water being expanded to town center. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.