FR moving forward with water plant engineering

The village is planning ahead.

Fort Recovery Village Council agreed Monday to move forward with PMG Consulting and Shoaf Consulting for engineering work in connection with switching the village’s water plant to a reverse osmosis facility. Marvin Gnagy, owner of PMG Consulting, and Rob Shoaf, owner of Shoaf Consulting, will provide a proposal for design and engineering related to changes to the water plant.

Village administrator Randy Diller explained the two companies, which are partnering for the project, were the only ones to submit a statement of qualifications for the work. Gnagy and Shoaf conducted a study for Fort Recovery last year, suggesting two potential water softening alternatives to the village’s current method. The village has been looking into shifting from its current lime and caustic soda treatment to reverse osmosis membrane softening, which would involve pumping water under pressure through reverse osmosis membrane elements (tube-shaped filters with about 15 layers).

The new softening process would decrease the village’s chemical costs by an estimated $210,000 annually, with initial construction costs estimated at $4.35 million. Construction would include installing 56 reverse osmosis membranes as well as locating and drilling a third well.

The timeline for the project will likely depend on whether the village receives the $4 million it applied for through the Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Grant Program, which allows Ohio communities to apply for up to $5 million in grants for construction projects.

If the village is awarded the $4 million, noted Diller, it will need to act quickly. Per the grant stipulations, the project would need to be bid out by the end of the year.

“I don’t want to stop, I want to be prepared so when we do hear about (the grant), we can say, ‘All right, it’s time to go, we’ve got to get moving,’ or, ‘All right, let’s figure out how we’re going to fund this thing.’”

Diller also mentioned he and other village representatives visited Van Buren’s wastewater facility Monday. Lemna Environmental Technologies — the village is considering a $1 million to $2 million proposal from the Minnesota company — developed a process for the city’s wastewater treatment.

“It has potential, is how I’ll say it so far, but we’re not talking apples to apples with them,” he said. “They don’t have any industry in there, it’s all domestic, period. They have a huge industry there, a popcorn plant, but they don’t take their waste.”

Diller noted the Van Buren lagoons had “absolutely no smell,” and he said he plans to ask to see a facility with a closer comparison to the village’s wastewater loading and volume.

In related news, he pointed out a smell has returned to Fort Recovery’s wastewater lagoons, and the village has been treating its ponds with two different products in an effort to mitigate it. 

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

•Were reminded about the real estate tax meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday in the community room at Fort Recovery High School. The public is invited to attend to ask questions and learn more about the process.

•Agreed to continue two enterprise zone agreements with J&M Manufacturing for another year. 

•Heard efforts to improve safety measures at the intersection of Elm and Center streets — it involves installing flashing beacons and enhancing crosswalks — should be completed before children and teenagers return to school in August following summer break. The $60,000 cost will be split between Fort Recovery Local Schools and the village.

•Amended the wage ordinance to increase Ambassador Pool assistant managers’ pay based on the number of years they’ve returned to the position. Returning assistant managers will receive 50 cents an hour raises per year. (In related news, Diller noted Aidan O’Dell of the utility department will be bumped to utility operator, a $1-per-hour increase. O’Dell recently passed another certification test, a stipulation laid out in the wage ordinance for receiving the raise.)

•Authorized Diller to execute an easement with the state for the new traffic signal being installed at the intersection of Elm and Butler streets.