Port Clinton council waives readings to fast-track sewer study, approves dockage deal and code fixes; crane truck vote moved to Feb. 24

Port Clinton City Council on Feb. 10 voted unanimously to fast-track a contracted engineering study to analyze stormwater inflow and infiltration and took several other unanimous actions, while deferring a replacement crane-truck purchase until a Feb. 24 meeting.

Council moved quickly through consent business and presentations before turning to several time-sensitive ordinances. On motions by Councilman Jerry Tarolli, seconded by Avery Robinson, the body waived the three-reading rule, retained emergency clauses where requested, and approved a contract with Verdantas LLC for a No Feasible Alternative (NFA) study intended to locate and measure stormwater inflow and infiltration (INI). The study will deploy 12 monitors and two rain gauges in storm drains and requires three high-velocity rain events to gather the flow data; the proposal cost was given as $348,000. Mayor Snider said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency previously put a hold on the city’s water-treatment-plant certificate in 2025, which contributed to the request to expedite the study.

The study’s purpose, as described by Interim Safety Service Director Jim Sass, is to "reduce the inflow that goes into the sanitary sewers so that water doesn’t have to be treated," saving storage and treatment capacity. Sass said Verdantas’s four-month flow-monitoring plan will produce an implementation schedule and recommendations by October 2026.

In other actions, council adopted Resolution 26-2 authorizing the sale of personal property by internet auction and approved Ordinance 2-26, which authorizes the director of safety and service to enter a dockage and wharf agreement with Sassy Sal’s Charter Service, Inc.; both passed on 6-0 voice roll calls.

Council also approved Ordinance 6-26, amending portions of Chapter 139 to restore a Fire Department uniform allowance that had been removed in earlier amendments and to correct the residency language for the Safety Service Director to align with Ohio Revised Code 737.01. The Law Director told council that delaying Ordinance 4-26 (the Verdantas NFA study) would prevent required spring soil and rain-event monitoring and could delay the project by a year.

Ordinance 5-26, which would authorize the purchase of a specialized utility crane truck for the wastewater treatment plant from QT Equipment without formal bidding because the existing 2007 truck was deemed unsafe, was introduced but not acted on; it will be moved to second reading on Feb. 24. Sass described the current vehicle’s boom as broken and the floor rusted, saying, "How much do you want to put in a truck that is a 2007?" He and the Law Director explained that only a few companies supply the specialized truck and the plant needs equipment rated to lift heavier pumps.

Council received a presentation from Pat McCauley of the Ohio Treasurer’s Office outlining state programs available to local governments and residents — including the STAR Ohio investment pool, Ohio Homebuyer Plus accounts, Buckeye Business Advantage loans for small businesses, and STABLE accounts for people with disabilities — and McCauley offered continued assistance to the city. Financial reports were accepted and the auditor reminded council that the full 2026 budget ordinance will be on the Feb. 24 agenda.

Council members raised several nonbinding floor items: Tarolli urged replanting trees removed during Ottawa County utility work (the county provided $25,000 for replanting, council was told none have been planted yet), Hovis thanked crews for responses to recent cold-weather infrastructure failures after the city experienced 12 water-line breaks, and city staff warned council of an impending federal naming requirement for the F.L.I.P. project fund that must be addressed by Feb. 24 to meet a federal deadline.

The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.