BATAVIA, Ohio — Clermont County commissioners voted 2-1 against backing a grant application to help buy 54 acres of wetland property in Jackson Township for conservation, splitting over whether the land should be required to allow public access.
The Board of County Commissioners considered Resolution No. 133-26 at its Aug. 26 regular session, which would have supported Cardinal Land Conservancy’s application to the state’s 2026 Clean Ohio Greenspace Conservation Program Fund for money to acquire the property, known as the Fix Property, according to meeting minutes. Commissioner Claire Corcoran voted yes; Commissioners David Painter and Bonnie Batchler voted no, and the resolution failed.
Painter said the property is mostly wetland rather than green space and would not be open to the public. Corcoran said public access would be available by appointment and that the property owners would be compensated for conserving the land, adding that she supports preserving wildlife and the land even without public access. Batchler said she objected to the public being denied access to the property.
Earlier in the meeting, Madeline Banks of Cardinal Land Conservancy told commissioners the roughly 54-acre property has supported generational farmers, contains hydric soils and sits downstream from the CECOS site, a former hazardous waste disposal facility in Clermont County, according to the minutes.
Commissioners also authorized two change orders on the county’s Filager Campus improvement project with contractor Graybach of Cincinnati. One, for $4,058, covers labor and materials to install correctly sized ceiling diffusers and reconfigure the ceiling grid. A second, for $187,906.80, pays for cement-stabilizing 8,600 square yards of soil, installing a well point to lower the water table, and regrading 27,000 square feet of the site. Neither change order altered the overall contract price, but the second added 28 days to the project’s completion timeline, according to the county.
Commissioners also set new dates tied to a Washington Township request to vacate part of Big Indian Road. A site viewing is scheduled for Oct. 6 at 9 a.m., with a public hearing to follow Oct. 7 at 11 a.m. at the commissioners’ office in Batavia, the county said.
In other action, commissioners approved a final settlement agreement resolving a Clermont County Common Pleas Court case, Curry Ingle Jr. v. Clermont County Board of County Commissioners, tied to a workers’ compensation claim. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in the county’s public record of the meeting.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont County Board of Commissioners.