By DAVE SCHULTZ
What came out of Monday night’s meeting of the Regional Sewer District’s board were several items of importance:
• Phase 1, the work to install a sanitary sewer collection system in Liberty Center and Murray, is substantially done — although some 55 customers have yet to connect, according to a report by Lewis Brown, the district’s supervisor. Also, some property owners who are behind on their payments will be taken to court Tuesday, Brown said.
• Phase 2, the plan to install a sanitary sewer system in Craigville, is under way and is “going along very smoothly,” Brown said.
• Phase 3, which was supposed to install sewers in Kingsland and Tocsin, has been trimmed back to just Kingsland. There’s not enough money available through the State Revolving Fund to keep the price for service at $95 a month and include Tocsin.
• A public hearing on the Tocsin bond ordinance and rate ordinance has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7 — the day before Election Day — in the multi-purpose room of the Wells Carnegie Government Annex, the customary site of RSD meetings.
The RSD board therefore covered a lot of ground in a 90-minute session.
Most of the work on Phase 1 consists of restoration of disturbed ground. Brown said 142 connections have been made with 55 yet to go. He’s not sure if all of those property owners have received a letter from the district encouraging them to connect.
Brown said liens against seven property owners have not paid anything or have paid very little since the district began collecting fees will be filed Tuesday morning. Another nine property owners have paid some or all of their back fees after he contacted them.
Brown said he had received “lots of calls” from Craigville, Kingsland, and Tocsin. The calls will probably cease from Tocsin because the SRF does not have the money this cycle to include both towns in a sewer improvement project. As a result, that public hearing on Kingland — and Kingland only — has been scheduled for next month.
The only firm to bid on the Kingsland and Tocsin work was VTF Excavation of Celina, Ohio — the same company that did the installation work in Liberty Center and Murray and is doing the work in Craigville. The company’s bid for Kingsland, if all connections of 300 feet or greater are taken out of the project, is more than $3,456,776, nearly identical to the engineer’s estimate of $3,477656. The bid for Tocsin, on the other hand, was nearly $4.2 million and the engineer’s estimate was nearly $3.6 million.
In other business:
• Damage was done to an AdamsWells line that has been considered a “rather significant claim.” Brown said VTF and AdamsWells and others would discuss the claim.
• Payment recommendations to the SRF were as follows: Phase 1 — $$1,902 to Choice One Engineering, $126,541 to VTF, and $77 to the Wells County recorder’s office; Phase 2 — $12,050 to Choice One and $183,159 to VTF.
• The district paid $13,695.05 out of its checking account for 15 claims. It also paid $4,420 to Accurate Laser Systems for a locator.
• RSD board members present were Andrew Stoller, Leon Berning, Bruce Stinson, and Jon Oman. Mike Mossburg was absent.
daves@news-banner.com
