Street project moving forward

FORT RECOVERY — The village is looking into reconstructing a few streets.

Fort Recovery Village Council gave the OK to move forward with seeking bids for reconstructing portions of Gwendolyn and Wiggs streets.

Village administrator Randy Diller shared updated costs for reconstructing parts of Gwendolyn and Wiggs streets or two blocks of Main Street. The former project is estimated at $488,767, with the latter at $322,985. Those estimates include engineering costs and estimated construction costs.

Diller noted that it could be as early as next year until the work is completed. He suggested moving forward with work to reconstruct Gwendolyn Street between Milligan and Wiggs streets and Wiggs Street between Gwendolyn and Wayne streets.

Council agreed to move forward with the process for the reconstruction project.

Also Monday, council agreed to bump the village’s health savings account (HSA) contribution for employees by $500, bringing it to $3,000. Council members learned the village will be switching to Medical Mutual health insurance in order to avoid rising costs in the current plan with Anthem, brokered by McGohan Brabender out of Dayton, Ohio. Renewal came with a 28% price increase, or annually about $30,000.

Medical Mutual will cost the village around the same it is currently paying at about $7,800 per month.

Council agreed to bump the HSA contribution in order to match the new $3,000/$6,000 — $3,000 for individuals and $6,000 for families — deductible plan. (Previously employees had a $2,500/$5,000 deductible plan.)

In other business, council members Greg Schmitz, Scott Pearson, Al Post, Erik Fiely and Luke Knapke, absent Cliff Wendel:

•OK’d closing a portion of Wayne Street from 1 p.m. to midnight June 14 for the Taste of Recovery, an event that offers beer and wine samplings as well as food trucks and free entertainment.

•Discussed the village’s wastewater lagoons, with Diller pointing out the change in temperature in coming months will be a determining factor as to whether or not the product from Kainos Ag is effective at removing sludge and maintaining low levels of hydrogen sulfide and other contaminants. Although the company has been working for the village since last year, it has not been paid yet for its work. (The contract states Kainos Ag will be paid for sludge removal, Diller explained, and the company has not yet documented that it has removed a significant amount of sludge.)

•Learned a ribbon-cutting for Fort Recovery High School’s new baseball and softball complex is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. March 31, with both baseball and softball games set to follow.

•Heard the village’s new asset management system for its utilities will be operational by sometime this week.