Village officials told the council they had been awarded an EPA regionalization grant of about $900,000 to build a bulk-water connection to the village of Addison and asked the council to authorize the administrator to negotiate and sign a bulk-water contract.
The request came during the meeting's discussion of a draft resolution that would empower the village administrator to execute a contract committing the village to supply bulk water to Addison as part of an EPA-funded project. Village staff said the modeling required by the grant must be completed by October and described the timeline as urgent.
“we were given an award for that around $900,000,” Village Administrator Justin Haley said, describing the award and the need to execute an agreement to satisfy the EPA’s grant conditions.
Why it matters: village staff said the grant would fund a regionalization project to extend the village water main to Addison. Officials told the council that Addison’s well field currently is at risk from contamination and that tying Addison to an alternate supply is one of the few long-term options the EPA has identified for that community. The village would provide bulk water and, staff said, the project would also add an emergency connection to the village system.
What was discussed: Haley summarized that the EPA requires a formal bulk-water agreement to move forward. He said the village has provided a conceptual draft to Addison and that the resolution would authorize him to negotiate and execute the contract. He added that engineering modeling must be completed by October to meet grant deadlines and that “time’s of the essence.”
Council action: the item was presented as a first reading; no vote or binding authorization was taken. Officials said they could not suspend the normal waiting period to adopt the resolution on an emergency basis because only four council members were present and state rules require a larger quorum to suspend rules for immediate adoption.
Other points raised: council members asked whether Addison would become part of the village system or be billed like other wholesale or retail customers; staff said the billing and long-term arrangements are not finalized and will depend on Addison’s council decisions and later contract terms. Staff also noted the village could later lose the need to supply bulk water if Addison instead chose to connect to Greater Cincinnati Water Works.
Discussion vs. decision: council received information and authorized no formal actions; staff said a future council meeting will include the resolution for final consideration once additional review and modeling are complete.
Next steps: staff said engineers must finish hydraulic modeling by October to keep the grant on schedule and that the village will return with a resolution for vote at a later meeting.