BATAVIA, Ohio — Clermont County commissioners tabled a long-running plan to close a section of Big Indian Road in Washington Township on Oct. 7 after a property owner’s attorney argued the closure would cut off legal access to his client’s land amid an ongoing lawsuit.
The board held a public hearing on the proposed vacation of a roughly 163-foot stretch of Big Indian Road, designated T-33, at the dead end of the road in Washington Township, according to meeting minutes. Commissioner Bonnie Batchler was present to swear in witnesses, and the hearing followed an Oct. 6 site viewing of the property.
Craig Risner, deputy surveyor for the Clermont County Engineer’s Office, told the board the 30-foot right-of-way was accepted in 1949 and that Washington Township trustees passed a resolution in July supporting the vacation. Risner said the road is listed as impassable with the Ohio Department of Transportation and may be considered an unpaved, unmaintained section because of that status.
John Woliver, an attorney representing Recterra, which owns adjoining property, told commissioners of discrepancies in a 1985 road vacation resolution and presented a title attorney’s legal opinion, a letter submitted on the company’s behalf in August and a 1965 deed addressing ingress and egress to the property, the minutes said. Woliver argued Washington Township trustees are legally required to maintain the road and cited a pending Clermont County Common Pleas Court case, Recterra v. Washington Township Trustees.
Chip Combs, a Recterra representative, showed the board a map of a prior easement to the property that he said no longer exists. He said the township attempted to maintain the road in 2019, making it passable for two-wheel-drive vehicles, but that it later washed out and the township has since declined to pay for repairs, according to the minutes.
Commissioner David Painter discussed erosion along a nearby creek that has affected the road with Risner during the hearing. Brian Shrive, an assistant prosecuting attorney, was present to answer questions but said a title opinion presented at the hearing amounted to new evidence that hadn’t been previously submitted.
After hearing no further comment, the board closed the public hearing at 11:42 a.m. Painter then moved to table the road vacation until a later, undetermined date, a motion Commissioner Claire Corcoran seconded. The board approved the delay unanimously.
The vote follows a 2-1 decision in July in which commissioners agreed to advance the township’s vacation request over Corcoran’s objection; she had wanted the board to wait until a related court appeal was resolved.
In other business at the Oct. 7 meeting, commissioners formally executed a roughly $1.96 million service agreement with Axon Enterprises Inc., a sole-source provider, to supply body-worn cameras and licenses for the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office and jail. The contract calls for five annual payments of about $391,842 from 2027 through 2031 and is contingent on the county adopting annual budgets for those years, according to the minutes.
The board also awarded a $1,126,000 contract to Triton Services LLC of Mason to replace the air handler at the Adult Detention Center, and a $295,466 contract to Peck, Hanniford & Briggs of Cincinnati to replace the boiler at the Common Pleas Court building. Both projects are required to be completed within 300 days of a notice to proceed and are contingent on the release of purchase orders.
Commissioners additionally executed a $64,500 professional services contract with Motz Consulting Engineers for HVAC replacement design at the Probate Court and accepted a permanent sewer easement from property owners John and Valerie Hartman for a sewer upgrade project in Batavia Township, compensating the Hartmans $17,602.09.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont County Board of Commissioners.