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Mayor outlines water, street and park priorities; Rules Committee seeks 12‑month moratorium on residential addiction rehab centers
Summary
Mayor Abdella briefed council on lead service-line outreach, Well 2 rehabilitation, water-rate analysis and street capital planning; the Rules Committee recommended drafting legislation to extend a 12-month moratorium on residential addiction rehabilitation centers.
Mayor Abdella used her report to outline several infrastructure and planning priorities for Belpre, citing work on lead service-line identification, a Well 2 rehabilitation project and ongoing water-rate analysis ahead of potential rate decisions.
Mayor Abdella said the engineering work on the Lead Service Lines survey is underway and that she has "blocked my schedule for a couple weeks coming up to go out and assist door to door with this project." She added that the engineering team removed an email-only requirement from the homeowner form to improve participation and reported that "there have been four lead lines identified from Lee Street to Florence Street." The mayor asked the council to accept a $10,000 H2Ohio grant to support these and related water efforts; council later approved the grant.
On the water system, the mayor said Well 2 rehabilitation engineering is largely complete and that bidding will begin; she reported leaks on Florence Street and a pump issue at the Orion O'Neal lift station. The mayor also said a proposed water-tower project is on hold pending a utilities committee decision about rates. She told council she has prepared preliminary rate information for the Utilities Committee and that Mr. Ambrozy called a Utilities Committee meeting for July 29 to discuss timing and proposed rates.
The mayor described street planning work with ODOT: staff and council are compiling a priority list of city streets to include in a streets capital plan and are reviewing funding options that may require loans rather than grants. StructurePoint will soon begin a park master-plan process and will interview business and community leaders to gather input, the mayor said.
Separately, Rules Committee Chair Ms. Riffle reported her committee reviewed state and federal limits around siting residential addiction rehabilitation centers and recommended extending a local moratorium on such facilities for 12 months; she asked that draft legislation be prepared for the next council meeting. Ms. Riffle also reported she is updating the city policy manual.
Ending: Council scheduled a Utilities Committee meeting for July 29 to continue rates discussion and requested legislation for the moratorium extension; the meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m.
