North Canton adds milling machine, details multi‑street projects and says water supply unaffected after nearby fire

North Canton officials said Monday the city has added a compact milling machine to speed pavement repairs and offered updates on three infrastructure projects that will begin this year. Utilities leadership also told council that water testing after a nearby salvage‑yard fire showed no impact to the municipal water supply.

Street superintendent Laura George described the new milling machine — a smaller unit that mills 24 inches wide and up to 8 inches deep — and said the machine’s conveyor reduces truck-loading time and cuts grinding work that used to take weeks. "It's just a baby version of the bigger ones... It mills 24 inches wide, 8 inches deep," she said, explaining that the machine allows targeted patching on smaller residential streets and faster turnaround for curb and sidewalk repair.

Public works outlined three projects: Apple Grove Northwest resurfacing (work to begin with curb and sidewalk repairs and funded partly with SCAS funds covering about 80% of the project cost and a roughly 10% local share), Northeast Street waterline replacement and roadway reconstruction (the city received Ohio Public Works funds covering up to 24% of project costs, up to $241,300), and West Maple Street reconstruction (the city has $825,353 in OPWC funds, covering up to 49% of project cost). Officials said some work will be scheduled around events and park bookings, with milling/repaving phases potentially deferred to favorable seasons.

On water safety, the utilities chair reported that the water superintendent provided a detailed memo after the Fosnacht salvage‑yard fire assessing contaminant risk, well locations and testing cadence. The report concluded there was no impact to the city's water supply; as an extra precaution, the city will not run one specific well (the Drexel well identified in the report) for one month.

Council members asked about maintenance for the new milling machine and training; officials said routine maintenance includes changing cutting teeth (t) that the city crew can handle and that more extensive servicing would go to an outside vendor as needed.

What happens next: crews expect to start Apple Grove repairs and milling operations when weather allows; the Northeast Street contractor is scheduled to begin after July 1 when grant funds are available; West Maple bidding is expected later in the year.

Key figures and funding mentioned in the meeting are from statements to council and the administration; the transcript records voice votes for approvals but does not include roll‑call tallies.