Holmes County agenda focuses on watershed updates, fire radio issues

A portion of Township Road 1051 in Walnut Creek Township is on the path toward a possible vacation, a move that could change who keeps access, who maintains the strip, and how nearby property can be used. Holmes County commissioners acknowledged the filing of the request, then set viewing and hearing dates and arranged public notice, putting the alley issue into the county’s formal review process rather than treating it as an immediate change.

That matters in Walnut Creek Township because even a narrow alley can affect daily access, drainage and future development flexibility for adjoining landowners. The township, in eastern Holmes County, had 3,992 residents in the 2020 census and borders Paint Township, Wayne Township and Sugar Creek Township in Tuscarawas County, Clark Township, Berlin Township and Salt Creek Township. The county’s road-records system includes Walnut Creek Township records, underscoring that the decision fits into an established local framework for documenting township road rights-of-way.

The alley item was one of the clearest local land-use questions on the May 28 commissioners agenda, which opened with an update from Ethan Zucal and Craig Butler of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. The discussion turned on the conservancy district’s long-running assessment structure: commissioners heard that the district went more than 70 years without an assessment, then added one after Hurricane Katrina, and that the charge now sits at the state minimum of $2. They also heard claims that the district has collected nearly $500 million in oil and gas revenues, has $350 million in commitments and investments through 2030 for parks and community grants, and has created a permanent private endowment with an initial $25 million tranche funded to support the conservancy in perpetuity. Craig Butler is the district’s chief executive, and MWCD says it manages Ohio’s largest watershed to prevent flooding, conserve natural resources and promote outdoor recreation.

The morning also included a 9:30 a.m. discussion with Derwin Clemens of the Killbuck Township Fire Department about MARCS radio communications. That issue has practical weight in rural Holmes County, where first responders depend on Ohio’s wireless digital public-safety network for interoperable radio service. The state’s 2026 MARCS grant cycle awarded nearly $4 million to 198 fire departments in 63 counties, with the program aimed at departments serving populations of 25,000 or less. Clemens had recently stepped into the chief’s role after the death of former chief Scott Kashuba, adding urgency to any talk about reliable communications.

Alongside those items, commissioners handled routine business, including minutes, paybills, transfers and transactions. They also placed a five-year renewal sales-and-use tax levy for county permanent improvements on the ballot, keeping both short-term access questions and longer-term infrastructure funding on the same agenda.