Council discusses wastewater treatment project

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NORTH LEWISBURG – Council received an update on the wastewater treatment plant project during Tuesday’s regular meeting.

Mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth said the village has finalized an agreement with the Ohio Public Works Commission for a $422,750 grant and a 30-year loan in the same amount for upgrades at the wastewater treatment plant. She said work should begin on the project in the next week.

Later in the meeting Hollingsworth asked Village Water Superintendent Trevor Clark to inform newer council members on how old the existing wastewater treatment plant is. Clark said the plant was installed around 2006 and was not designed or put in correctly. The objective of the current project is to make the system more operator involved.

“It overlaps and it’s very complicated and we’re going to simplify a lot of it,” Clark said. “There’s a lot of automation controls out there – you don’t need automation controls. You need to walk your butt out of the office and walk through the plant and turn a few valves and make things work.

“The problem with the automation is when it starts to fail – which it has been doing for three or four years – it trips signals to this computer system and shuts that system off. Unless you know how to work on the automation you can’t get anything to work.”

In other action:

•Council approved the removal of uncollectible water and sewer accounts. Hollingsworth said the village has about $1,400 that needed to be taken off the books and some of the debts were related to foreclosures and bankruptcies.

•The village received a full reimbursement grant from the Champaign County Drug Free Youth Coalition in the amount of $23,579.84. Following recommendations from the coalition, the village added surveillance cameras and signs to deter substance abuse at the park.

•Community yard sales will be held Sept. 23 and 24 to coincide with the Union County Bridge Festival.

•Council authorized Village Administrator Andy Yoder to negotiate the contract for propane for the village and North East Champaign County Fire District for the 2016-2017 year.

•Hollingsworth said she is working with Frank Summerfield to to coordinate names that need to be added to the monument at the park. For armed services veterans who feel they should have their name of monument, she said they need to provide what branch they served in, what years they served and if they served in a war.

•Hollingsworth reminded citizens that burning garbage is prohibited in the village.

•Council approved a resolution establishing a $25 fee for Hollingsworth to perform marriage ceremonies.

By Nick Walton

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Nick Walton can be reached at 937-652-1331 Ext. 1777 or on Twitter @UDCWalton.

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