The city of Urbana Sewer Department is expected to accept delivery around Christmas of a $300,000-plus present in the form of a brand new vacuum truck after City Council voted 6 to 1 (Council member Ray Piper voted no) Tuesday to approve the expenditure.

The 2017 Aquatech B-10 International 7400 chassis vacuum truck, used to clean storm and sanitary sewers, is being purchased from Dreier & Maller Inc., Reynoldsburg, at a cost of $314,209.85, which will be charged to the Sewer Fund.

Wastewater Superintendent Chad Hall said the Aquatech vacuum unit is made in Marietta, while the city has requested the International chassis be made at the Navistar plant in Springfield.

“It will be a complete Ohio-built truck,” he said.

To help offset the cost of the new vacuum truck, the city is trading in its 2002 Sterling/Ford model, which is expected to bring in $35,000 and lower the net price of the new vehicle to $279,209.85. He added by purchasing the vehicle now, the city will save approximately $50,000 as the price of the trucks is expected to increase between 15 and 18 percent by month’s end.

The city’s current vacuum truck, Hall said, is in “average shape,” but repairs are starting to become costly as the city has already paid roughly $12,000 this year to fix various issues.

In regards to the infrastructure the vacuum truck helps to maintain, Hall informed council the newly formed Stormwater Advisory Committee met for the first time in August and about a dozen citizens showed up to participate.

The committee’s next meeting, which is open to the public, will take place at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12 in the municipal building’s upstairs fire training room.

New medical facility coming to Urbana?

An ordinance seeking to amend the city’s official zoning map by rezoning an 11.5-acre tract of land (currently used as farmland) at the northwest corner of U.S. Route 36 East and North Dugan Road, underwent the first of three scheduled readings.

Lewis Center-based Urbana MOB LLC has requested the land, considered Subarea E of the Urbana Commons Planned Unit Development (Walmart), be rezoned from residential/open space to office/medical campus.

The rezoning request cleared its initial hurdle on Aug. 22 when the Urbana Planning Commission voted in favor of recommending council rezone the property.

While the entity interested in the property hasn’t been made public by the developer or city, Marysville-based Memorial Health announced last month its intentions to build a 30,000-square-foot, $10.3-million medical office in Urbana.

In a related matter, the first reading of an ordinance adopting the official zoning text for office and medical campus uses within Subarea E of the Urbana Commons PUD underwent a first reading.

Community Development Manager Doug Crabill said the city and developer have been working back and forth to develop the zoning text that will dictate how Subarea E will be used and developed.

In other business:

•An ordinance approving an annexation agreement between the city and Urbana Township concerning the property located at 638 Childrens Home Road was passed by council following a third reading.

Under the agreement, the city, which provides water and sewer services to the property, will pay a one-time payment of $1,084.92 to the township to help cover lost tax revenue the township will no longer collect once the property is annexed into the city.

•Council heard the second reading of an ordinance that would allow for the former armory at 1412 N. Main St., which is city owned, to be put up for sale via sealed bids with the minimum bid set at $390,000.

•A ceremonial resolution designating the city as a recognized City of Peace through the International Cities of Peace Organization was passed by council.

“This is basically a quality of life resolution,” Mayor Bill Bean said.

Per the resolution, Sept. 21, designated as the International Day of Peace by the United Nations, will now be designated locally as the City of Urbana Day of Peace.

•By a 6-1 vote (Piper voted no), council agreed to increase a blanket purchase order to One Aqua Source from $15,000 to $45,000 for polymer for use at the city’s Water Reclamation Facility to aid in the removal of water from sludge.

•An ordinance adopting the North Central Ohio Solid Waste District’s Solid Waste Management Plan underwent a first reading.