To make it easier to deal with vacant and abandoned tax-delinquent properties, the Prairie Township board of trustees voted to adopt Ohio’s Land Reutilization Program at their Oct. 8 meeting.
The program gives the township the authority to obtain such properties when they don’t sell. They would then either try to sell the property or make it available for public use.
The trustees also passed a resolution asking the Franklin County Engineer to conduct a speed study on Alton Road from West Broad Street to Hall Road.
Administrator Tracy Hatmaker said there were concerns that the current default speed limit of 55 miles per hour is too high, given the residential traffic the road gets.
Chair Nicole Schlosser said she travels the road every day, and there are more school buses using the road than in years past.
Also at the meeting, trustees addressed an unexpected complication in the construction on South Grener Avenue. The water lines are aging, and the trustees want to replace them instead of making a few alterations as originally planned.
If the lines aren’t replaced, there is a chance work might have to be done on them after the South Grener project is already complete.
The trustees will request about $300,000 in additional funding from the Ohio Public Works Commission to cover the cost of replacing the lines.
A petition was filed for lighting in the Lake Darby Estates neighborhood. The board will go out to the area and have a look to determine if lighting is needed, and then hold a hearing.
The designated trick or treat night in Prairie Township is Oct. 31, on Halloween, from 6-8 p.m. It was noted that Hilliard has designated Oct. 30 as trick-or-treat night, but Trustee Steve Kennedy said for residents who are living in the Hilliard school district, but within Prairie Township, the trick-or-treat night will be the Oct. 31.
