Two years ago, Fairfield proposed the idea of a land swap with Hamilton. That proposal has become a deal in need of approvals by Hamilton and Fairfield city councils.
Hamilton owns about 4.4 acres on Nilles Road in Fairfield next to the city’s fire department headquarters. In exchange, Hamilton would receive about 8 acres of undeveloped farmland to the north of Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields off Groh Lane, plus an easement and utility access to the land.
Hudson said the city has been given the okay by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to proceed, and a test well has been dug.
“All the tests have come back indicating it’s an appropriate site to put a well,” he said.
Hamilton, as well as Fairfield and other communities, gets their drinking water from the Great Miami Valley Buried Aquifer, which extends under more than a dozen counties. The wells pump the raw water to treatment plants for processing before it can be distributed to water customers.
Hamilton has a raw water well on its Nilles Road property, but it’s been inoperable for years.
Hudson said this new well would be connected to other raw water wells in the area.
Hamilton Vice Mayor Eric Pohlman had concerns about potential impacts of the future expansion of the Miracle League, which Fairfield Assistant City Manager Adam Sackenheim said there would be no impact.
“What the Miracle League foundation has looked to do in expanding that property, building a gymnasium at some point directly west of their existing ball fields,” he said. “The 8-acre piece north of Joe Nuxhall Miracle field and adjacent to Joyce Park would be unencumbered by this project.”
The other part of this land swap involves two equal-sized parcels on River Road, just north of the current Marsh Lake Park entrance. Hamilton owns 4.1 acres that fronts River Road, and is in front of land for the planned expansion of Marsh. In exchange for giving Fairfield the 4.1 acre parcel that fronts River Road, Hamilton would receive an equal size adjacent parcel to the east, plus an easement and utility access to the property.
The city of Hamilton purchased the River Road land in March 1999 for a potential well, but by today’s standards, a raw water well would not have the appropriate sanitary clearance. The interior parcel would, Hudson said, as it needs a 300-foot isolation radius from the wellhead.
Fairfield benefits from the swap as it gives the city road frontage for its Marsh Lake Park expansion project.
The swap would give Hamilton a suitable property to dig another raw water well in the future, though Edwin Porter, Hamilton’s executive director of infrastructure, said it is not needed at this time.
Sackenheim told Fairfield City Council last week they want to obtain that land as the city develops Marsh. This past October, an updated master plan for the 146-acre park was approved, which calls for an expansion of kayak and canoeing facilities, more hiking and biking trails, and other amenities, like an amphitheater, boat rentals and eateries.
Fairfield and Hamilton will give further consideration to the proposed swap at its meetings in February, with potential votes by both bodies at the end of the month.
Writer Sue Kiesewetter contributed to this report.
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