Whenever it is desired to construct improvements wholly within, or partly within and partly without, any conservancy district, which improvements will affect only a part of the district, for the purpose of accomplishing such work, subdistricts may be organized upon petition of the owners of real property, or the governing body of any political subdivision or watershed district created under section 6105.02 of the Revised Code, within, or partly within and partly without, the district, or upon petition of the board of directors of the district. The petition shall fulfill the same requirements concerning the subdistricts as the petition outlined in section 6101.05 of the Revised Code is required to fulfill concerning the organization of the main district, shall be filed with the clerk of the same court of common pleas, and shall be accompanied by a bond as provided for in section 6101.06 of the Revised Code. All proceedings relating to the organization of the subdistricts shall conform to the provisions of this chapter relating to the organization of districts, except that it shall not be necessary for the court to hold a preliminary meeting. The judge determining that a sufficient petition has been filed shall forthwith set a date for hearing, which shall be held not later than sixty days after the filing of the petition, and shall give notice of the hearing to the court of common pleas of each county included in whole or in part in the main district. The clerk of the court shall give notice of the hearing by publication in the counties included in whole or in part within the proposed subdistricts. Whenever the court by its order entered of record decrees subdistricts to be organized, the clerk of the court then shall give notice of the order to the board of directors of the conservancy district, which then shall act also as the board of directors of the subdistricts. Thereafter, the proceedings in reference to the subdistricts shall in all matters conform to this chapter, except that, in appraisal of benefits and damages for the purposes of the subdistricts, in the issuance of bonds or notes, in the levying of assessments, and in all other matters affecting only the subdistricts this chapter shall apply to each subdistrict as though it were an independent district, and it shall not, in these things, be amalgamated with the main district.

The board of directors, board of appraisers, chief engineer, attorney, secretary of the conservancy district, and other officers, agents, and employees of the district shall, so far as it is necessary, serve in the same capacities for each subdistrict, and contracts and agreements between the main district and each subdistrict may be made in the same manner as contracts and agreements between two districts. The distribution of administrative expense between the main district and each subdistrict shall be in proportion to the interests involved and the amount of service rendered. The division shall be made by the board of directors with an appeal to the court establishing the district. This section does not prevent the organization of independent districts for local improvements under other laws within the limits of a conservancy district organized under this chapter, as provided in sections 6101.68 and 6101.69 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-21-2000 .