A community meeting was held in Findlay on Monday night on the proposed Eagle Creek Floodwater Storage Basin.

Around 200 people attended the meeting at the Old Mill Stream Centre at the Hancock County Fairgrounds.

Several officials with the Maumee Watershed Conservancy District and Blanchard River Watershed Solutions explained the project and the need for it.

Hancock County Commissioner Tim Bechtol spoke in support of the project as did Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn.

Dave Blatnik, Senior Business Development Advisor at Marathon and President of Blanchard River Watershed Solutions, spoke with WFIN’s Chris Oaks the following morning and addressed the safety concerns that some people raised at the meeting as well as people saying there’s not a complete plan for the project.

Eagle Township Trustee David Bower (at the mic in the above picture) was one of the several people who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.

He told WFIN he doesn’t believe the basin will be that effective and isn’t worth the cost.

People who live in the vicinity of the project also spoke about their concern that the basin will negatively affect their home’s value.

Officials believe the basin, just south of Findlay, will reduce the 100-year flood elevation at Main Street by around a foot and a half, which is on top of the benefits being seen from other flood mitigation projects like benching and removing flood-prone properties.

In May, the Maumee Watershed Conservancy District Court voted to table their decision on the Eagle Creek Floodwater Storage Basin so the community meeting on the project could be held.

The Conservancy Court will meet again on July 9th to consider including the basin as part of their official plan.

The 600 to 800-acre storage basin would be constructed west of U.S. 68 and just north of Township Road 49 in Hancock County, just south of Findlay.