Southwest Licking utility growth prompts regionally focused name change

As the service area for the Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District continues to grow and change, the district is changing its name to better reflect its broader scope in Licking County.

The utility district is changing its name to Licking Regional Water District, Executive Director Jim Roberts said.

Roberts said the district has been exploring a name change for quite some time, having done internal staff surveys and worked with an outside consulting firm to determine a new moniker. The district's current name, Robert said, is clunky. District officials also wanted to swap out the word "community" for "regional" to better represent the district's growth, he said.

"We feel like that's more descriptive of the direction we're heading," he said.

This change is part of other sweeping changes the district is making, including inviting Union and Jersey townships to join its formal service area and its board of trustees as well as implementing eligibility requirements for trustees.

The district's expansion comes as the area is expected to see potentially dramatic growth with the construction of the $28 billion Intel facility just south of Johnstown on Jersey Township land annexed into New Albany. The district is also planning for a wastewater treatment plant in St. Albans Township to handle the anticipated growth.

Since its founding in 1989, the district has served Etna and Harrison townships and what previously was Lima Township, now part of Pataskala.

The district took a first step toward adding the two townships in June, and now the district's three board members approved the all the changes, including the new name, on Aug. 8, Robert said. But that doesn't mean the changes are official.

Township trustees for Union and Jersey still need to officially approve joining the district, Roberts said. Jersey Township officials previously requested to join the district but district and Union Township officials are still determining the footprint of the district's Union Township service area, Roberts said.

All the changes must be approved by the Licking County Court of Common Pleas through an amendment to the district’s 1995 organizational petition, according to a district news release. The district’s legal team is currently preparing the amendment to file before the court, which Roberts said he expects to happen by the end of August. Then the court will schedule a hearing on the matter after a four-week public notice period.

"As we move forward with these changes, our focus will be on ensuring that all future steps are collaborative, transparent, and to the benefit of all of our customers," Roberts said via a news release. "We look forward to working with our current board members, representatives from Jersey and Union townships, and the court to complete this process."

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Southwest Licking utility growth prompts regionally focused name change