Village awarded $499,000 grant

FORT RECOVERY — The village will be granted half a million dollars for its latest reconstruction project.

Ohio Public Works Commission recently awarded Fort Recovery approximately $499,000 through the Small Government Program grant for reconstruction of Butler Street between Fort Site and Main streets.

Fort Recovery Village Council heard about the award during its meeting Monday.

The reconstruction project, estimated to cost $1.53 million, will include an “improved aggregate base and asphalt that will handle the large amount of daily truck traffic,” according to the village’s description of the project on the Small Government Program’s award sheet online. It will also include the following: new and improved curbs and sidewalks; replacing the water main pipe; new service taps at adjoining properties, including a tap for fire protection at Fort Recovery Morvilius Opera House; and a new traffic signal, pedestrian crossing equipment and fixtures at the intersection of Butler and Wayne streets.

Fort Recovery village administrator Randy Diller noted plans for Choice One Engineering to update the engineering proposal and move forward with the project sometime this year.

Council also authorized Diller to enter into an agreement with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Supply Revolving Loan Account for a $266,120 loan. The money would be used for planning and design work related to switching the village’s water plant to a reverse osmosis facility.

Fort Recovery applied for $4 million through Ohio Department of Development’s Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Grant Program for the water plant project, which is estimated previously at $4.35 million for construction. The new softening process would decrease the village’s chemical costs by around $210,000 annually.

Diller explained the five-year, 0% interest loan is intended solely for the engineering portion of the project, which will be completed by PMG Consulting. Diller noted completing the design work would allow the village to move forward with construction quickly if it receives the $4 million grant, which must be allocated by the end of the year.

Also Monday, council approved a $36,530 contract with Ohio Department of Transportation for additional patch work while paving Ohio 119 (Boundary and Butler streets) and Ohio 49 (Broadway and Elm streets) through village limits.

Diller noted the village has approved two other pieces of legislation regarding the project, explaining the contract stipulates the village’s share for additional repairs to the roads. Paving is scheduled to begin in August or September.

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

•OK’d paying a $64,307.71 work order from Capital Electric for pole foundations, pedestal foundations and installation of an underground conduit for the new traffic signal planned at the intersection of Elm and Butler streets (Ohio 49 and Ohio 119). Hopes are to finish up the project sometime in July.

•Learned the wastewater lagoons are experiencing an influx of algae, which Diller noted is typical for the spring. Additional aerators have been installed in the ponds, and the village has put in its first dose of sludge reduction material for the season. (It will be administered once a month for the next three months, after which point the village will conduct a sonar report to view results.) Diller also mentioned plans to meet with a representative from Ohio Rural Water Association and discuss current operations and long-term solutions for the lagoons.

•Heard from Ryck Morales of Small Business Association, who offered information about funding available to those impacted by the March 14 tornado

•Were reminded Ambassador Pool opens on Monday for Memorial Day.