Farming deal approved

River Street to close

The city of Franklin will be closing a section of River Street for the next seven weeks starting Monday in order to replace the Third Street Lift Station.

During this time, River Street, between 2nd and 3rd Street will be closed.

Built in 1937, the Third Street Lift Station is due to be replaced. In December, Franklin City Council awarded the $648,000 t contract to Ford Development Corporation of Cincinnati.

Wastewater lift station moves sewage to a wastewater treatment plant. The benefit of using a lift station in a sewage collection system is that it saves a substantial amount of money in excavation costs, which involves digging for sewer pipes, according to the city website.

The Clearcreek Twp. trustees Monday approved a three-year rental agreement to farm hay on a portion of the Hoffman Reserve.

Administrator Matt Clark said the township received three bids for the 12.85 acre tract off of Ohio 48. The trustees accepted the bid of Rick Muterspaw of Lower Springboro Road, who farms about 50 to 60 acres of hay about two miles from Hoffman Reserve. Muterspaw’s bid was $210 per acre.

In his bid, Muterspaw said it was “near to his heart” as he worked for Bill Hoffman baling hay during his high school years and was a close family friend.

Clark said that Trustee Steve

Muterspaw abstained from the discussion and vote as he was a cousin of Rick Muterspaw due to conflict of interest concerns.

The township has future plans to develop the land for outdoor recreational use. It allows crops to be grown on the land for the purpose of controlling weed growth and to discourage unmanaged use of land until it is developed for its intended purpose, according to the resolution adopted Monday.