The State of Ohio has made a $42,000 final offer to settle a dispute over a proposed bridge and roadway through a protected ravine area in Columbus’ Clintonville neighborhood. The offer, described by the Ohio Department of Administrative Services as a final attempt, was made three days after the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District said it would not approve the project without more protected land or a less impactful design. The disagreement now turns on a response requested by Oct. 30 and a conservation district board meeting set for Nov. 9.
The land at the center of the dispute is Bill Moose Run, a 73-acre tract north of Morse Road between North High Street and Indianola Avenue. The tract has been protected since 1999 by a perpetual conservation easement. The state owns the land, but the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District, known as FSWCD, controls the easement, so changes to the protected area need approval from its five-member Board of Supervisors.
The Ohio State School for the Blind and the Ohio School for the Deaf want to build a 12-foot-wide two-lane roadway and pedestrian path connecting their two campuses across the tract. The schools say the connection would improve student safety and accessibility. About $13.6 million in state funding has already been appropriated for the work.
For a time, FSWCD appeared open to approving the project in return for additional protected land. At the Sept. 14 board meeting, assistant director Kyle Wilson said that mitigation adding 13.2 acres from the site’s northeast corner might be a conservation win. The Ohio Department of Administrative Services instead offered 6 acres of noncontiguous land, well short of the acreage the conservation district had discussed as a possible path to approval.
In an Oct. 19 letter, FSWCD director Jennifer Fish said the board would not approve the project without either the 13.2 acres or a less impactful bridge design. Fish cited forest canopy, water quality and wildlife habitat in explaining the board’s position.
Three days later, DAS director Kathleen Madden rejected that position and offered $42,000 instead. Madden called the amount a fair valuation of the 2 acres needed for the bridge and described it as a final attempt to resolve the matter. Madden requested a response by Oct. 30, setting a near-term deadline for the conservation district to answer an offer that does not include the additional acreage or a redesigned bridge the district had sought.
Nearby residents have opposed the project over environmental harm, the precedent for overriding perpetual easements, and an alleged lack of transparency after construction work was seen on site in fall 2025. What happens next depends on FSWCD’s response to the Oct. 30 request and on its next board meeting on Nov. 9, when the Board of Supervisors could take up the final offer.