Drown donation to Conesville to become public park
William Todd Drown donated the property at 707 Franklin Ave. in Conesville, to the Village of Conesville with the hope that the village would eventually use the land for a public park. (Submitted)
On May 25, 2021, William Todd Drown donated the property at 707 Franklin Ave. in Conesville, to the Village of Conesville with the hope that the village would eventually use the land for a public park.
The property is the site of the former residence of Jeffrey C. Shrimplin which was purchased by Drown at foreclosure sale in 2021 for $12,000. In December 2021, the village contracted with William Albert Excavating, Inc. of Coshocton, to demolish the structure on the donated property for the sum of $6,500 and level the site. On Jan. 26, 2022 and again on Jan. 27, 2022, the structure was demolished to make way for the new park. Mayor Marge Donley said, “We could not salvage the structure on the property as it was in extremely poor condition.”
On Feb. 9, 2022, the village council voted unanimously to move forward with RFP’s (Request for Proposals) for the development of a new park encompassing the Drown donation at 707 Franklin Ave. and the vacant lot beside the property currently owned by Jeffrey C. Shrimplin. The village council voted unanimously to make a private offer to purchase the adjacent vacant lot from Shrimplin but also gave the mayor and solicitor authority to move ahead with eminent domain proceedings for acquisition of the property for the new park. Council unanimously found that a new park was in the public’s best interest and such was needed as the school park on the north side of town is not usable by residents when school is in session.
Council believed it would make sense to acquire property next to land already owned by the village for the new park. The Solicitor William Todd Drown explained that the government cannot take private land under the United States Constitution without “just compensation.” As such, Drown explained that if Shrimplin turns down the more than generous private offer made by the village, the village will proceed with an eminent domain appraisal and will tender the amount of that appraisal to the clerk of courts and file a petition for eminent domain with the common pleas court in the coming months.
Category: People & Places
