Monday - June 14: The Village Council held a Special Meeting this past Monday to get approval for additional funds for a sewage project. Present at the meeting was Mayor Joe Surace, Council Members Sue Haugh, John McMahon, Joe Soldano, Rosie Goss, Randy Allmon & Tony Cataldo, Fiscal Officer Dale Davis, Village Administrator Jim Saracco and Village Zoning Officer Rick Williams.
United Water, operator of the Village Sewage Treatment Plant, has been accumulating a list of problem sewer line areas that go back to 1999. These are areas that they are repeatedly called back to for sewage backing up in homes or over flowing in open areas. These problem areas numbered 26.
Earlier this year Village officials contracted a firm using a tethered camera to visually investigate these problems. The Village Administrator got three bids for the project. At the time it was estimated that the project would cost no more than $23,000 total.
At Monday's meeting it was announced that the project is 75% completed and that there are not one but two invoices for this project. Councilman Cataldo explained that it soon became apparent that using the camera was a waste of money when it could only go "six to ten feet" along the various sewer lines. The contractor was running into problems with grease, tree roots and other debris blocking the path of the tethered camera. It was decided these areas needed cleaned first using a jet rodding machine that is capable of pushing whatever is blocking the line to a man hole and be cleaned out.
As of Monday there is an invoice totalling $22,250 for the jet rodding and another invoice for approximately $20,000 for the camera work. Village officials are permitted by law to spend up to $25,000 on anything without the Village Council's approval. Ohio Revised Code requires that anything over that figure be put up for bid. After the bidding process a vote by full Council awards the winning bid.
Coucilwomen Haugh and Goss both questioned how this dollar amount happened without Council's approval indicating they were both were led to believe the whole project would not exceed $23,000. The investigation project is only three quarters completed and the total amount is nearly doubled. Cataldo explained that the project turned into two projects with the jet rodding needed to complete the camera work.
Sewage Committee Chairman Randy Allmon made two motions to approve additional funds for both the jet rodding and the camera work. Both motions were seconded by Cataldo. By vote Council approved an additional $10,000 for each. The Sewage Committee members are Allmon, Cataldo & Haugh.
Many of the Wellsville sewer lines are the original clay pipe that date back nearly a century. Mayor Surace remarked that the hardest part of correcting many of the sewer line problems is facing Village officials in the future. The biggest problem will be coming up with funding to replace the deteriorating sewer lines. Once the current project is completed the contractor will furnish a full report to both Village officials and United Water which will include archived photographs of the 26 problem areas. Cataldo advised the engineer from G,G&J will review the report and recommend what action needs to be done.
In other sewer related matters Cataldo announced that they should find out in July if the Village will be awarded grants for the new catch basins that include paving part of Commerce St. Saracco advised that the Ohio EPA should have their review of the plans for the Sewage Treatment Plant digesters completed this week. Once the EPA approves the plans that project will be put up for bid. United Water's Greg Stewart advised that the 3" down pour a couple of weeks ago sent over two million gallons of rain water through the plant with approximately another 2.5 million gallons from the pondage area that was by-passed straight to the river.
Council's Claims, Rules & Ordinance Committee will meet this morning at 9 A.M. in the Fire Station for a "work session". Another Special Council Meeting will be held Friday, June 18 at 11 A.M. in Council Chambers for action on seven items.
ole nib
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3 comments:
If you are given an estimate by a company and it is going to be more than 20,000 more than what they estimated why wouldn't they come to council and let them know before they continue.
Actually, we can't find fault with the company doing the work. They are doing what they were hired to do.
We feel Village officials are splitting hairs saying there are two separate invoices - one for camera work & one for jet rodding. You can have 20,000 invoices but it still boils down to one project. In this case it's investigating the 26 problem areas. It's the same stunt they pulled in the past.
nib
Nib, who in the hell is watching the store? You are right, it is the same stunt they pulled in the past. Someone in law enforcement needs to look into this stuff, or are they already. They fool nobody.
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