By JONATHAN SNYDER
The Regional Sewer District presented its plan for 2024 and beyond during its meeting Monday.
Ryan Lefeld of Choice One Engineering introduced the schedule for the RSD’s future plans, as requested by Lewis Brown, the RSD’s superintendent. Plans for the upcoming Tocsin project have been submitted to the State Revolving Loan Fund for the 2024 cycle.
It is expected that the funding will be approved sometime in July. The project has an estimated one year time frame until its completion. The official construction start date is currently unknown due to the wait on the funding approval process.
Lefeld and Brown also announced that the RSD will prioritize the Reiffsburg, Petroleum and Keystone project areas in that order for 2025 and beyond.
All the current projects handled by the RSD are still moving along, according to Brown. The Craigville project has just under 60 connections out of 132 completed, and more are scheduled for completion this week. Brown expects the Craigville and the Liberty Center project will be fully online at the same time.
The Kingsland project’s gravity sewer installation is at a standstill due to a delay on the jack and bore process on Water Street. Rail-Pro stated that they hoped to establish an installation date by the end of the year, which has not been reported to the RSD.
Levi Morrison of Wessler Engineering noted in his report that progress is still on track and that 20 grinder stations are completed as of Dec. 8. Brown added that all of the grinder easements are done, but some homeowners outside the 300 foot distance of the sanitary sewer main still need to choose if they want to connect.
When the RSD opened the floor for public comments, Roger Cash requested that an independent body inspect his septic system to prove its failing. The RSD currently does not have an agreement with Cash, but Cash stated that he is willing to accept any potential financial risks if his system fails. Brown will be looking into his case this week.
Furthermore, Sean Colliaer urged the RSD to bring some documentation or a contract over the equipment installation. Mark Burry, the RSD’s attorney, is currently working on drafting this document, and Brown commented that it is fair to the customers to put something in writing.
Additionally, the RSD paid out 18 claims for various electric bills and equipment maintenance needs, totalling under $14,000. Pay applications for SRF claims covering all three projects were also approved.
Jon Shady will also be joining the RSD for 2024. He ran the sewer department in Fort Wayne for around 12 years, and his fellow RSD members — Andy Stoller, Leon Berning, Jon Oman, Bruce Stinson and Dr. Richard Jackson — expressed excitement to be add him.
jonathan@news-banner.com
