Fort Recovery discussing new taxes

FORT RECOVERY — A proposed new tax could be implemented to improve streets in the village.
Fort Recovery Village Council heard Monday from village administrator Randy Diller about two permissive tax levies, labeled as license registration taxes, that could bring in an estimated $15,000 annually to the village’s street fund.
Council members were also updated about the village’s ongoing wastewater lagoon renovation project.
The village has the option to pass two new tax fees — one specifically for municipalities, the other for either the county or the municipalities.
Both would mean an additional $5 cost when renewing a license plate and registration.
“We haven’t even started the process,” said Diller, adding that he would still need to prepare the paperwork and allow the pending legislation to go through three readings by the council to gauge residents’ reaction.
The tax designated for county/municipalities comes with the caveat that if the county approves the fee first, it receives the funds. If the village passes the legislation before the county, the funds will stay in Fort Recovery.
Other communities in Mercer County are looking at the same issue, said Diller.
“The concern is as we’re looking at ways to try to replace the local government fund money that’s been taken away — all the estate tax has been taken away and a myriad of ways they’ve taken money away from the municipalities — this is one way we can add some back,” said Diller. “We’ve got plenty of street work we can use it for, no question.”
Council members asked Diller to prepare information for a discussion at the next meeting.
Diller also informed council that a beginning stage of renovation to the village’s existing wastewater lagoons was finished last week, with 2,500 tons of stone added to the banks of the two lagoons.
The cost came in at less than $60,000, well under the estimated $90,000 for 4,000 tons.
“It went real good for them,” said Diller of workers from Overman Trucking and Kahling Dozing and Excavating, who also repaired the driveway to the area.
The next phase of the project will be fixing the system’s hydraulics and piping, for which the village is working with Choice One Engineering and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to discuss permit regulations. Diller said he’s still in the process of getting prices for the work, which could triple the treatment capacity of the lagoons.
The eventual goal is to also construct a third lagoon, with construction projected to begin in late summer or early fall. Diller explained that it might be easiest to approach the new lagoon as a single project away from the renovations of the existing lagoons.
The lagoon will be almost a clone to the others at 6.5 acres, but it will come with controlled discharge, which will only allow wastewater to be let out into the river when water levels are high enough to accept it.
This makes the environmental impact considerably less, said Diller.
Details still need to be worked out about the flood plain and the river, but if everything goes through, Diller hopes to have the lagoon constructed by the end of the year.