Ossian olans two major water projects

June 20, 2012

By GLEN WERLING
Two major water projects are coming to Ossian this summer — one of which will be highly visible.
The town’s spheroid 250,000-gallon water tank   behind the town hall is due for a complete refurbishing this summer, including scraping and painting of the exterior.
To accomplish that, the tower will have to be surrounded completely by tarps which will, in effect, serve as a shield to keep chips of paint from drifting onto nearby houses and to keep the new paint also from drifting.
The cost of the project is estimated by engineering firm Fleis & Vandenbrink at $288,000. The town already has the cash available to pay for the project and plans to seek bids next month.
The project could take a couple months to complete.
The second major project is an extension of the town’s 12-inch water line from the corner of Baker Drive and Industrial Parkway to an area just west of Linder Oil, the business which is situated farthest to the west in the Ossian Industrial Park along Industrial Parkway.
The town has received permission from Norfolk Southern Railway to extend the line under the railroad tracks. The only holdup to the project has been securing easements for the line from a couple property owners on the north side of Industrial Parkway. One of those easements was granted late last month and the second was expected to be secured by the time of this publication’s release.
The total cost of the project, including engineering and design, is estimated at $250,000.
Linder Oil currently has a smaller water line feeding it from the back, according to Martin. The new line is expected to facilitate the expansion of Linder and open up the area west and north of Linder for development.
The engineering for the project is completed and it will be ready for bids with completion slated for the end of the year.