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Fort Recovery council reviews costly water and street projects; EPA plan review requires $12,000 fee
Summary
Council updates covered lagoon treatment options, a $12,000 EPA plan-review fee for the water plant, a $500,000 North Wayne Street rebuild estimate potentially reducible to ~$200,000, an $888,655.46 bid from Jutte Excavating, and water-line extension engineering estimated at $18,000.
Village staff outlined multiple capital and operational issues affecting Fort Recovery’s water and street systems, including an EPA plan-review fee, lagoon treatment alternatives, a high-cost street rebuild estimate and a large contractor bid.
Aaron Rengers told council Kleinfelder is engineering a Lemna-based treatment approach for the lagoons that should be complete by March. He said the village received notice that the EPA plan reviewer is requesting a $12,000 fee before beginning review of updated water-plant plans: "we need to pay $12K before they start reviewing our plans," Rengers said.
Council discussed sludge removal and treatment options. Staff reported an operator-provided sludge removal estimate described in the minutes as 0.05 cents per gallon versus a potential bid figure of roughly 0.08 cents per gallon; members noted drying and cell management strategies may reduce the amount that must be pumped. Public works (Randy Diller) said the village could close one lagoon cell and run the other while cleaning, and that the discharge permit allows up to 250,000 gallons per day.
On street work, Rengers said a complete rebuild of North Wayne Street was estimated at $500,000. Engineers are exploring using the existing wet well and other design changes to lower the cost toward a goal of about $200,000 and to extend the repair life to decades. Rengers also reported a Jan. 29 bid opening in which Jutte Excavating submitted a low bid of $888,655.46, approximately 10% below the engineer’s estimate; Rengers said change orders could generate refunds.
Other items affecting capital costs include street-light replacement: ODOT requires 16-foot poles for the project, and Rengers offered a rough project estimate of about $200,000 depending on pole type and outlets. Rengers said an $18,000 engineering fee was estimated for a planned water-line extension along State Route 119 to serve properties including Ruhenkamp and to facilitate potential annexation.
No formal votes on these projects occurred at the meeting; council directed staff to continue engineering work and to seek funding options. Kleinfelder is expected to finish engineering work on the Lemna proposal by March, and staff will pursue grant and funding pathways for larger capital projects.
