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Council hears progress report on water-plant upgrades; parking and snow response discussed
Summary
Public works and safety officials told the council the municipal water-plant filter-bed refurbishment is nearly complete, ozone equipment remains to be installed, and the city is planning parking signage and stronger enforcement once weather improves.
Mister Soutak updated Martins Ferry City Council on Jan. 29 about an ongoing upgrade to the city's water plant, saying crews expect the first refurbished filter bed to be ready "by the end of next week" and that the plan is to run both filter beds for about 10 days to confirm performance. "Everything's gonna be brand new in there," Soutak said, and he estimated the project will be 100% complete "by May or June." He said the remaining work includes final media placement, bridge installation for backwash operations and installation of ozone equipment.
Council members asked whether an engineering firm had provided a life-expectancy estimate for the refurbished tanks. A council member confirmed an engineering firm had inspected the filter bed and tanks and identified necessary repairs; council members discussed planning for potential future tank replacement on a 10–20 year horizon.
Chief West also briefed the council on public-safety and parking issues. He reported recent break-ins at the former hospital property and asked residents to report suspicious activity; West described preliminary talks about leasing weekday parking spots to businesses at about $25 per month per spot. Regarding two-hour free parking, officials said signage and enforcement will be phased in after winter conditions improve and that some meters are currently unreliable because of battery failures in cold weather.
What happens next: Officials said they will continue commissioning and testing at the water plant, finalize plans for ozone equipment installation and proceed with parking signage and an enforcement plan once snow and cold-weather issues subside.
