In the name of God, just work together

By Rory Ryan
The Highland County Press

Sometimes, a little common sense and cooperation ought to prevail. I like to think that it used to.

For those keeping up with the Sonner Chapel saga in East Danville – or suburban Winkle – if you prefer, it seems to me that a little cooperation could resolve the matter in a day or two.

Highland County commissioners heard comments from church representatives Cynthia St. Clair and Bill Edenfield at their Aug. 11 commissioners' meeting. They expressed concerns about infrastructure around Sonner Chapel in East Danville, which is slowly sinking after each heavy rain.

I walked around the church property this week, and yes, there are erosion issues due to flooding. 

Commissioners said at their Aug. 11 meeting they would see if Highland County Engineer Chris Fauber could investigate the situation to see if anything can be done to mitigate the problem. In other words, they took a Texas El Paso and punted the ball to the engineer's office.

This week after being contacted by The Highland County Press, Fauber said the right-of-way on Sorg Road is 40 feet and that the issue is "100 feet or so from the right-of-way," which makes this a private property issue. I think Chris is correct.

According to Mr. Edenfield, the intersection of pipes for drainage for Sorg Road are located across the road from the church. I also think Bill is correct.

“There is a lid over there that collects water also,” he said. “It comes through our property at the church for no other reason but to drain the northeast side of Sorg. We get no benefit from it, but it's four feet from our foundation, and it's all undermined right now against the foundation. The blacktop’s going down, so we're going to have a major problem with that building within the year or two, so we're hoping we get some sort of help.”

Mr. Edenfield said if the commissioners and county engineer would put it in writing that this is not the county's responsibility, the church could plug the pipe on the church property. He added that this would no doubt cause widespread flooding on other properties after a heavy rain.

At Mr. Edenfield's request, on Sept. 24, I asked if the county commissioners and county engineer would sign a letter stating that the drainage issue related to the Sonner Chapel property along Sorg Road in East Danville is not the county's responsibility. They were asked Sept. 24: "Will you be willing to do that? Why or why not?" 

I added that we will report if anyone replies. As of 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, no public office holder has replied. Perhaps they are seeking legal counsel's advice.

Hell, I could answer my own question – honestly and legally – in seconds. It's not that tough.

More importantly, though, is the issue at hand. The church in East Danville and neighboring properties have needed the drainage piping to move runoff rain water from Sorg Road. There are problems with the existing infrastructure. Instead of arguing over who's responsible, how about working together for a solution?

Any legal opinion will no doubt side with the public officials. The practical opinion would be for each side to contribute toward a solution without undue harm to anyone's budget.

As we reported, Ohio Revised Code section 6131 does address the issue, but that is a petition process, which states: When the board of county commissioners, at a regular or called session, upon the filing of a petition as provided in sections 6131.01 to 6131.64 of the Revised Code, finds that the granting of the petition and the construction of an improvement is necessary for disposal or removal of surplus water, for controlled drainage of any land, for irrigation, for storage of water to regulate stream flow or to prevent the overflow of any land in the county, or for water conservation, and further finds that the construction of the improvement will be conducive to the public welfare and that the cost of the proposed improvement will be less than the benefits conferred by its construction, the board of county commissioners may locate, construct, reconstruct, straighten, deepen, widen, alter, box, tile, fill, wall, dam, arch, change the course, location, or terminus of, straighten, deepen, remove obstructions from, or widen any ditch, drain, watercourse, floodway, river, creek, or run, or construct any levee, wall, embankment, jetty, dike, dam, sluice, revetment, reservoir, holding basin, control gate, breakwater, or other structure for control of water, or vacate any ditch or drain by proceedings as provided in sections 6131.01 to 6131.64 of the Revised Code.

In other words, the church may collapse long before the Ohio Revised Code section 6131 petition is written or considered.

All parties ought to get together, take a good look at the issue and work for a logical solution. It can't be that tough.

Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press.