MANSFIELD — Former Bellville Mayor Darrell Banks knows a little bit about southern Richland County.
Now a Richland County commissioner, Banks, along with fellow commissioners Tony Vero and Cliff Mears, on Tuesday approved a “significant” sanitary sewer infrastructure proposal for the village that will open the door to additional economic development.
The plan, which Vero said would cost in the “seven figures,” will improve the sewer lines in the I-71/Ohio 97 area that was recently announced as the site of a new $15 million YMCA indoor sports center.
Additional commercial and residential development appears to be in the offing in the area, though commissioners offered no specifics on Tuesday. Funds for the project will come from the county’s share of its American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
“The southern part of the county is going to grow,” Banks said. “This (project) prepares us for it. We need to be prepared because it’s going to happen with Intel (launching a new $20 billion campus in Licking County) … Delaware County’s full.
“We need to be ready for this. It’s an exciting time in Bellville.”
The actual agreement approved by commissioners is an addendum to a 1981 agreement between Richland County and the village that had the county sewer system handling the sites near the interstate and sending it through the village’s wastewater treatment facilities.
The area was not incorporated into the village until 1995.
The new plan calls for the sewage system, built by Richland County in 1980, to be improved and then transferred to the village’s control.
“(Bellville) has requested if they’re going to take over a sewer system, that there be some investment from the county side,” Vero said.
“The other piece, which we can’t get into in great detail, is (to) eventually make a sewer system robust enough that could handle any potential development in that area, as we saw with the soccer complex.
“And as the Intel announcement comes along to make our community available to handle development. So this is partly a transition sewer system and then also an opportunity to grow Richland County,” he said.
Richland County Administrator Andrew Keller thanked Bellville Mayor Teri Brenkus and village administrator Larry Weirich for their cooperation on the plan.
“This agreement is rooted in the commissioners’ faith in this area of the county as just being ripe for development, for growth. We believe making this investment will be catalytic for that growth at this exit,” Keller said.
“We’ve had great conversations with Mayor Brenkus and administrator Wyrick. They’ve been very productive and I know that Bellville leadership has the same vision as the county does for this exit,” he said.
“We’re looking at commercial development, we’re looking at residential development as we speak, and, it’s not necessarily public at this point in time, but we’re excited about the prospects for the village,” Keller said.
The county administrator said the next step will be to seek proposals from engineers and designers for the project, a step he said should happen before the end of the year.
Under the agreement, the county will upgrade and/or replace sewer lines from the lift station at Bellville-Johnsville Road past the Love’s Travel Stop to the west of of I-71.
Keller said the actual cost for the project will be determined once the design is complete.
Vero said, “It’s going to be a substantial investment in public dollars.”
“Once the county, if we’re successful in doing all those things, we’re going to convey those sewer assets to the village,” Keller said. “The village will have a brand-new sewer system.
“It’s really a mutual benefit. It’s great for the village. And it’s kind of a generational opportunity only because of this American Rescue Plan Act funding,” he said.
Vero agreed regarding ARPA funding, which are federal dollars coming into the county during the COVID-19 pandemic. The county received $23.4 million in total ARPA funding, divided equally between 2021 and 2022.
“It reflects an ideology with this office, with the ARPA money. It is a way for the county to use these monies, even with your regular government services you provide to grow the county.
“It’s an ideology the three of us have had, this has been generational dollars, whether we agree that we should have got them, or the government should have gave money.
“This is a way for the three of us to say, ‘OK, how are we gonna use the dollars to grow the county, to develop the county, even using water and sewer money?’ We’re using them to expand the system to provide opportunity for the county and the village to grow,” Vero said.
“This is your county commissioners preparing for growth. That area is primed for development and that isn’t politician hyperbole. It’s happening now and it’s only going to continue to happen.”
Brenkus said the effort behind the sewer plan began in 2018.
“We’re really excited about this … finally coming to the finish line. We are excited, not only of course for the Clear Fork Valley, but everyone throughout the county and beyond,” she said.
“We had to care for a very dysfunctional wastewater treatment plant. So I think a brand new line is gonna be a lot easier than that.
“And as we prepare for economic development, we will, of course, increase staff when necessary to keep up with that demand,” the mayor said.
