Jennings to bid out storm sewer project

By Nancy Spencer, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Thursday, September 18, 2008 (2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Fort Jennings Park Board members put the finishing touches on the new playground equipment at the park Tuesday evening. Park Board President Cliff Wieging said approximately 10 volunteers started the project Sept. 7. The new equipment was purchased with the help of village funds the park board will pay back with fundraisers.FORT JENNINGS — Village council is putting its ducks in a row to bid out its Fifth Street Storm Sewer Relief Project the first of November.
The village has received an approximately $23,000 Small Governments Grant to help with the project.
A new 48-inch line at the detention pond at Jennings Schools will come behind the homes on Fourth Street down to St. Joseph Street, turn at Charles Street, turn at Fifth Street and then run out to the river.
Rick Weaver of Poggemeyer Design Group, the engineer on the storm sewer project, said the plans will be finished in a few weeks and hopes the bids can be opened by Thanksgiving, with work starting the first of the year.
“This is a really good time to bid projects like these out,” Weaver said. “Contractors will be looking for jobs to keep busy during the winter.”
The village will also be applying for a Public Works Grant in January for paving Fifth Street where the storm sewer lines will be laid, with additional paving at the park and an alleyway.
The total paving project comes to approximately $143,000. If the grant is awarded, the cost will be shared 50-50 by the village and the grant.
Mayor Jim Smith attended a recent roundtable discussion with Senator Sherrod Brown to pitch the village’s proposed water project plans.
Smith said he sat down with Brown’s aide, Delphos Mayor Mike Gallmeier, Ottoville Mayor Ron Miller and Putnam County Commissioner John Love to discuss the village’s options.
“We talked about the challenges a small village faces when trying to take on a large infrastructure project like this and they seemed to think Senator George Voinovich would be a better person to contact because of the committees he heads,” Smith said.
Smith also learned that through contacts in Washington, the village of Vanlue got its water project attached to a farm bill.
He added that he and Delphos officials would continue to discuss running a transmission line from the Delphos-Gillmor Upground Water Supply to Fort Jennings.
“Another thing we may need to consider is to start collecting a little bit of money each month or quarter from villagers to put into a ‘match account’ so we have proof we can provide match money to a grant for this,” Smith said.
Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) will be doing a sanitary sewer rate analysis for the village at no charge. Administrators have received several letters noting that the village is not charging enough to create a fund for future expenses or improvements.
“We really need to take care of this as soon as possible,” Smith said. “We don’t want to wait until we have a major problem and have to put in place a huge increase. If you do it now, we may be able to offset anything that comes up.”
Maintenance Supervisor Paul Kramer was given authority to purchase a new pump for the village’s wastewater treatment plant. The village utilizes two pumps in addition to a backup. A pump was taken in for repairs and it was found to be more costly to repair than to replace. Kramer will purchase the new pump for $5,700 and pick up the old to be scrapped out. At the same time, he will take one of the other pumps in to be checked out for using too high of an amperage during operation. The pumps move treated wastewater to a lagoon system east of the village.
Kramer will also offer leaf pickup. If villagers rake leaves to the roadway, Kramer will take care of them.
He will also get an estimate for five pear trees for placement throughout the village.
The next meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21.