Hancock County eminent domain action may be heading for trial

An eminent domain action filed by the Hancock County Board of Commissioners in an attempt to seize private land for flood mitigation along the Blanchard River may be heading for trial. The case is one of three eminent domain actions filed by the commissioners currently pending in Hancock County Common Pleas Court. A civil jury trial has been scheduled in the more than two-year land fight with a property owner along the Blanchard River. The commissioners filed an eminent domain action in Hancock County Common Pleas Court in May 2021, asking the court to force the sale of about 1.3 acres of a 2.9-acre parcel on Howard Street. That parcel is owned by Performance R&D LLC, 331 Clinton St. The eminent domain action marks the first filed in Hancock County due to flood mitigation. The commissioners argue they need the land to finish the first set of benches dug into the Blanchard River as part of flood control. However, the company's owner, James N. Bowser, isn't budging — so far, all attempts to reach an agreement for the sale of the land have failed. "The government wants to forcefully take my land. The government wants to use it for its purpose. It is my land. I want to use it for my purpose," said Bowser. "The government says it is for flood reduction." Bowser said every person who has bought or owned property in the flood zone for the past 200 years knew the property was in a flood zone. "The government wants to flood my land to dry/save someone else's land," said Bowser. "The government wants to build a bicycle/multiple use pathway across my land, but wait, the path will be out of the flood zone. That is my land, high and dry." The trial date has been set for 8:30 a.m. June 26, 2023, in Hancock County Common Pleas Court, with Judge Jonathan P. Starn presiding. The authority of eminent domain allows government entities to seize private property for public use, but requires that fair market value be paid for the property. In the court filing, the commissioners argue the land is needed for restraining barriers and the relocation of a bike path. It states that both are needed for public safety, and all the work is meant to "reduce the effects of potential flooding for public use and benefit." The commissioners have offered Performance R&D $6,000 for the property based on an appraisal, ordered by their office, that set the amount as fair market value for the 1.3 acres. The Hancock County Auditor's Office sets the value of the entire 2.9-acre parcel at $18,120. In November, Performance R&D filed an answer to the lawsuit, stating that the property in question is "far away from the Blanchard River and the sole purpose of the appropriation is to construct a multi-use bike path," which the company argues is not necessary. The company also says the sale will lower the value of the remaining parcel, and that the board of commissioners violated its land rights by trespassing "with heavy equipment for the purpose of removing trees and brush to clear a wide path to allow the public to cross its land, without permission or privilege, and is continuing the trespass, all to Performance's damage." Performance R&D is asking the court to dismiss the commissioners' petition, and if not, to award the company payment for the partial parcel, compensation for the lost value of the residual property, and the cost of attorney and appraisal fees. Property already owned by the city and the county flanks the Performance R&D lot both up and down the river. The $6.1 million project widened the river by cutting "benches" into the north riverbank for about 3,500 feet between the Norfolk Southern Railroad bridge and Broad Avenue. The benches are meant to increase the river's capacity during floods. So far, flood mitigation efforts already in place — the benches and efforts to clear the floodway of structures — are expected to lower the level of the Blanchard River at Main Street, Findlay, by about 6 inches during a 100-year flood event. Property acquisition is now underway for the second set of benches, also to be built along the north side of the river, from the Main Street bridge to the Dr. Martin Luther King Parkway overpass at East Main Cross Street. The commissioners filed two additional eminent domain actions in March of this year against a family trust holding property on Meeks Court, Findlay, located at 201 Meeks Court with an adjacent lot, and 206 Meeks Court. The property is owned by Thomas A. Miller, trustee of the Miller Family Trust, 8155 Liberty Township Road 89. The commissioners have offered Miller a total of $74,000 for all three parcels.