CHRONOLOGICAL TIMELINE
2008
March 8, 2008
- In order to install a waste water treatment plant (WWTP), the requesting party must apply to the Ohio EPA for an installation permit. (application, large file)
- Page 1 -states that four options were evaluated and that the the preferred choice was a system employing Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR) technology.
- Page 4 - estimates the cost for the the preferred choice was $2.6 million (new circumstances would drop that price significantly according to the Ohio EPA [July 6, 2009])
- Page 4 - The connection with Clark County would require Miami County (using money collected from Bethel Township residents) to pay for upgrading and expanding the Clark County WWTP
- Page 4 - Connecting to Clark County would take time to plan, design, and construct to a centralized sewer system and for the expansion of the Clark County WWTP. It was noted that DELAYING the installation of the localized MBR WWTP for Brandt would JEOPARDIZE the available funding
- Page 4 - "Bethel Township's Strategic Growth Plan is to remain a predominantly rural area but provide for growth with the clustered land development that leaves most of the area open space."
- Page 4 - "BUILDING A GRAVITY TRUNK SEWER THAT WOULD PROMOTE HIGH DENSITY EXURBAN GROWTH PATTERS IN BETHEL TOWNSHIP IS CONTRARY TO BETHEL TOWNSHIP'S GOALS." [Exurban means "A region lying beyond the suburbs of a city, especially one inhabited principally by wealthy people."
- Page 5 - "By contrast, the proposed Brandt WWTP will only serve a small, well defined service . . .[but] it will not allow for new development outside the proposed service area."
- Page 5 - "[the Brandt] project provides a direct benefit to the local economy by allowing for closed businesses such as small restaurants and service facilities to reopen or expand. Local property values will be enhanced because a public nuisance has been eliminated, and vacant parcels within the service area can now be improved because sewer service is available."
April 22, 2008
- Trustees adopt resolution to pay Jacobs, Edwards and Kelsey $19,850 to revise the 2005 Development Plan
June 10, 2008
July 8, 2008 - The FOUNDATION of the proposed plan is seriously flawed.
- The assumptions provided by, Jacobs, the consulting firm hired to develop the Plan adhered to the "build it and they will come" theory, but they undermined the basis of their own assumptions when they admitted that the data that was used in formulating the Plan "may not reflect very recent changes in demographic characteristics or economic activity."
- A process known as psychographics (data on credit card purchases, borrowing, media usage, etc.) was used to determine if the surrounding area could provide adequate potential customers for certain goods and services hypothetically available in Bethel Township. However, Jacobs again undermined their own work when they admitted that the "data may not accurately depict the tastes and characteristics of the local population . . .their profiles oversimplify the target population . . .the accuracy of the data or its applicability cannot be checked for accuracy."
July 9, 2008
The Ohio Public Works Commission encouraged the county to reapply for money to construct the WWTP in Brandt.July 9, 2008
- Letter from Ohio Public Works Commission. Five years went by with no construction
July 10, 2008
- A $500,000 loan from the Ohio Public Works Commission for the WWTP in Brandt was terminated and a $340,000 grant award was reduced to $90,000. The project began in 2004.
September 12, 2008
- The Matrix, the basis for governing the Policy Areas, was developed based on the input of one township employee, and one Bethel Towship resident. See the September 15, 2008 entry for input from two county employees.
September 15, 2008
August 13, 2008
- Objectives of the Steering Committee
What to changeWhat to let go awayWhat if everything in the Corridor was goneBethel Township News and Views
Miami County, Ohio
