Committee approves permit for relocation of pump station to Central Avenue; Bedrock to fund move

The Municipal Service and Properties Committee approved Ordinance 3 27 20 25 on April 14, 2025, authorizing an encroachment permit for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) to construct, operate and maintain a new pump station in the Central Avenue right of way.

City staff explained the relocation will move an existing pump station away from West Third Street at the river’s edge and tuck the infrastructure under the Central Avenue bridge pier, a change driven in part by the Bedrock development project. Nora, a Bedrock representative, said the move “is being done as part of our capital work on site” and later confirmed Bedrock will fund the relocation. When Councilman Bryant Casey asked whether the move would be at no cost to the city, the Bedrock representative answered, “no cost whatsoever.”

Committee discussion focused on siting and funding; Nora said Bedrock’s team engineered the move in coordination with NEORSD and that the pump station will remain a sewer infrastructure facility that pumps sewage to a treatment plant. The committee approved the emergency ordinance; members asked for no additional conditions during the meeting and directed the clerk to sign the ordinance.