Fort tower on the way (5/3/05)

FORT RECOVERY — Construction of a cell phone tower here is expected to begin any day.

Fort Recovery village administrator Randy Diller told village council members Monday that construction of a Nextel tower on property owned by Dan Timmerman, 1020 Sharpsburg Road, could begin any day.

Once construction begins, the tower is expected to be completed within five to six weeks.

Currently, the closest tower to the village is located in St. Henry, Ohio, and there is very limited cell phone service in Fort Recovery, the council previously discussed.

The village also was approached by Cingular Wireless officials about building a tower on village-owned property in January. But village officials have not heard from the company since a proposal to the company for a site was submitted, Diller said this morning.

Also Monday, the council approved payment of $18,119 to the Mercer County Engineer’s Office for paving of Fort Recovery-Minster, Union City and Sharpsburg roads.

The county plans to pave approximately 4,300 by 20 feet of these roads up to the state highways in the village.

This project will begin in June, Diller said.

Also, council members authorized Diller to seek quotes for an estimated $7,500 project to pave Caldwell Street between Gwendolyn and George streets, which was recently torn up during the project to replace sanitary sewer lines on Gwendolyn and West Center streets.

That section of road is currently gravel, which produces dust for residents on that road.

This road will likely be torn up again when the village reaches its next phase in the sanitary sewer project, to reconstruct Gwendolyn, Center and Caldwell streets and add curbs and street lamps. But it is not known when that phase of the project will begin or an estimated cost to complete this final phase.

In other business, council members:

•Heard Diller announced that the annual park work day is Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Ohio time).

•Approved transfers of $10,000 to the park fund from the income fund; $3,500 to the industrial park debt fund from the income tax fund; and $4,500 to the water debt fund from the water revenue fund.

•Approved the third and final reading of an ordinance to pay $3,182.50 to the Mercer County Board of Commissioners for ambulance services in 2005.

The council also approved the final reading of an ordinance allowing the village to enter into a one-year contract with Mercer County Emergency Management Agency. The village will pay the agency $318.

•Heard Diller announce that students hired by the village from the Business Enterprise Center at Wright State University-Lake Campus in Celina, Ohio will be conducting a door-to-door income survey on Saturday, May 7.

Due to inclement weather, students didn’t complete the surveys on April 23, Diller said.

All information collected by the students will be kept confidential and sent to the Mercer County Community Development Department for tabulation.

This information will be used by the village to qualify for state and federal grants to fund combined sewer system projects.[[In-content Ad]]