FR awards water tower contract

FORT RECOVERY — The village is moving forward with construction of a second water tower.

How it will account for the additional cost is still to be determined.

Fort Recovery Village Council awarded a $2,442,700 contract Monday from Caldwell Tanks of Louisville, Kentucky, for building the new tower on the north side of the village.

Plans call for a 250,000-gallon elevated water tower similar to the existing structure along Industrial Drive on the southeast side of the village with an additional 2,600 feet of water line to connect it to the village’s distribution system.

Fort Recovery received a $1.25 million grant in June 2023 from the Ohio BUILDS water infrastructure program for the project, which at that time was estimated to cost about $1.7 million. The village planned to contribute about $450,000 from its water tower improvement and water capital funds for the project.

In March, bids for the project came in at higher than expected, with Caldwell Tanks bidding at least $600,000 less than the other two companies — Pittsburg Tank and Tower Group of Henderson, Kentucky, and Phoenix Fabricators of Avon, Indiana — who submitted offers. At $2.44 million, Fort Recovery would pay approximately $1.2 million — $750,000 more than initially anticipated.

The village applied for a $600,000 one-time Ohio Capital Budget grant through Ohio Senate president Matt Huffman’s office but has not received a decision yet. Village administrator Randy Diller noted the village may not learn if it has been approved for the funding until the state’s budget is approved in June. 

Caldwell Tanks’ offer is valid for 60 days after bid opening, which puts the village’s deadline to award the bid by May 14.

Diller and fiscal officer Roberta Staugler reviewed the village’s capital improvement plans to see if the village would be able to pay for the additional funding.

“The bottom line is, yes, we can. How we’re going to do is it to be determined,” Diller said. “We may end up having to borrow some money, we may not. It’s going to cut us really close on a lot of things.”

It could also impact funding for other capital projects on the timeline, such as improvements at the water plant and wastewater lagoons.

Diller said he doesn’t want the village to miss out on using the Ohio BUILDS grant dollars it was awarded. He also pointed out re-bidding the project could result in more expensive contracts.

Mayor Dave Kaup asked how much it would cost the village to get out of a contract with the company if Fort Recovery doesn’t receive the one-time funding.

Diller said he is not sure, but that it could be an option.

Council members Al Post, Cliff Wendel, Scott Pearson, Erik Fiely and Greg Schmitz, absent Luke Knapke, agreed to move forward with Caldwell Tanks’ offer.

Also Monday, council heard dredging the wastewater lagoons is estimated to cost about $440,000. That figure doesn’t include hiring a company to gather and haul away the sludge, which Diller estimated at an additional $100,000.

He added that he’s working on getting a total project cost for potential work from Lemna Environmental Technologies of Minnesota. The company has suggested a process that would utilize Fort Recovery’s wastewater lagoons while adding in some mechanical aspects, a project initially estimated between $1 million and $2 million.

Council also learned a large recirculation pump has been installed in the lagoons, which should help to increase dissolved oxygen in the water. Plans are to resume using a sludge reduction product from Kainos Ag — it has been used through the warm months for the last few years — on the lagoons in the next couple weeks.

Also, council learned Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has preliminarily approved the village — it’s pending additional information — for a low-interest loan for the design portion of switching the village’s water plant to a reverse osmosis facility. 

Diller noted he has not yet received an answer on the village’s application for $4 million through the Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Grant Program, which allows Ohio communities to apply for up to $5 million in grants for construction projects.

In other business, council:

•Approved the following: an ordinance amendment to hire Julia Beyke as a lifeguard training instructor for 2024 per American Red Cross certification guidelines and a $100,665.42 pay request from PAB Construction of Coldwater, Ohio, for reconstruction of Gwendolyn and Wiggs streets.

•Heard Diller awarded right-of-way acquisition services work to Dennis Ziccardi and Associates of Cincinnati for the planned multi-use trail along Ohio 49 and Sharpsburg Road, a project funded through Ohio Department of Transportation’s Systemic Safety Funding grant. The process is required by Ohio Department of Transportation and the federal government.

•Were reminded about the Fort Street Car Classics Car Club’s Cruise-In is slated for 6 to 10 p.m. Friday along the brick portion of Wayne Street and Fort Recovery’s annual spring clean-up day May 18. Maharg’s Trash Service will pick up trash items, which must be set on property curbs by 5 a.m. May 18.

•Learned Fort Recovery Cemetery Board raised the price per cemetery plot to $525 from the previous $450.

•Heard Ohio Public Works Commission should review recommendations and make final awards for the Small Government Program grant Friday. The village applied for a $500,000 in order to reconstruct Butler Street between Fort Site and Main streets.

•Heard paving has been completed at Fort Site Park.

•Were informed Fort Recovery Ambassador Pool has been cleaned and refilled. The pool will be open for Memorial Day.