Milford council approves $1.64 million OWDA loan, awards $4.4 million Wallace Avenue water-tank contract and corrects water rates

Milford City Council voted Jan. 7 to authorize a $1,642,228 loan from the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA), award the Wallace Avenue water storage tank construction contract to Maguire Iron for up to $4,404,000 and amend the city's water usage rates so corrected 2025 figures will appear on February utility bills.

The actions are intended to complete the Wallace Avenue storage-tank project, increase the city's storage capacity to meet Ohio EPA expectations and spread project costs over time. Council passed the loan ordinance, the contract award and the rate-correction ordinance in separate roll-call votes; all three measures were adopted during the Jan. 7 meeting.

City Manager Benjamin Gunderson told council the items are intended to —get this ball rolling— on a project staff and consultants have long planned. Gunderson said the administration expects the new tank to address long-term storage needs and allow the city to conserve cash by financing part of the cost through OWDA.

Council authorized a loan agreement with OWDA for $1,642,228. The ordinance adopting the loan (Ordinance No. 25-327) states the loan is the remaining capital needed to complete the Wallace Avenue water-tank project and declares the measure an emergency so work can begin as soon as possible.

Council then awarded the construction contract (Ordinance No. 25-328) to Maguire Iron for an amount not to exceed $4,404,000. City staff said the city received two bids; Maguire Iron's price was substantially lower than the next bid. Consultant Branstetter, who reviewed the bids for the city, noted Maguire Iron requested a longer contract time than other bidders because of fabrication and scheduling challenges and said, —They've requested 770 days— for completion, though he added the contractor often provides a firmer schedule after award.

Branstetter and staff told council the project will increase storage from roughly 350,000 gallons to about 1,000,000 gallons to meet regulatory demand and system reliability goals. Branstetter said there are only a handful of water-tank fabricators and that lead times and fabrication schedules are typical factors in the multi-hundred-day schedules bidders proposed.

Because the original ordinance that set the 2025 water rates used older rate figures, council also approved an amendment to Ordinance 24-320 to correct the numeric rates while keeping the previously authorized 20% increase. The amended codified rates (Ordinance No. 25-329) set the within-city usage rate at $5.96 per 1,000 gallons and the outside-city usage rate at $8.92 per 1,000 gallons, with the new rates effective on February utility bills.

Gunderson said city staff will communicate the corrected figures by mail and with a short explanatory video so customers see what the change means for average household bills. —This will be something that we make a special video for,— Gunderson said during the meeting.

All three ordinances were adopted by recorded roll-call votes. Councilmembers expressed general support for moving the project forward and said staff will return with construction schedules and additional contract details at upcoming meetings. Gunderson told council the administration expects to present a proposed construction schedule in the next one or two council meetings.

The city referenced the loan agreement, contract documents and the codified ordinance language in each adoption; several council members said the financing approach lets the city conserve cash while meeting immediate storage and regulatory needs.

Next steps: the loan agreement and the Maguire Iron contract are effective under the emergency clauses cited in the ordinances, and staff will follow up with a construction schedule and public communications about the water-rate correction and projected household bill impacts.