City to seek OPWC help with water line

ThisWeek CW 08/17/2011

http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/canalwinchester/stories/2011/08/17/city-to-seek-opwc-help-with-water-line.html?sid=104

Canal Winchester will seek an Ohio Public Works Commission grant to cover half the $2.3-million estimated cost of replacing water lines and doing road repairs on the west side and in the “Tank Town” area.

City council’s unanimous approval Aug. 15 of a capital improvement plan (CIP) that includes those projects will allow the city to proceed with an application for OPWC funding.

Officials hope to pay for the rest of the project with a 30-year, no-interest loan, also through the OPWC.

Prior to the council meeting, public works director Matt Peoples told the service committee that 10,000 feet of water line needs to be replaced.

Most of that is four-inch pipe that will be upgraded to six- or eight-inch pipe to provide better service to fire hydrants and to remedy water quality issues, he said.

The application deadline for the grant is Sept. 6, according to project consultant Ben Amick.

“(OPWC) will review all the projects and provide scoring by mid-December,” he said at the service committee meeting. “That will give you a good idea of if you’ll receive funding or not. By the end of December, they’ll announce the final list, which will receive funding after July 1, 2012.”

Peoples said that if this project were funded, it would complete the majority of the city’s water line upgrades and current necessary road repairs.

About 20 residents attended the full council meeting because they were concerned about a High Street overpass that is also included in the CIP, which is essentially a “wish list” of projects city officials have on their radar for the next five years.

The residents’ primary concern was that houses near the High Street-U.S. Route 33 interchange would be torn down or otherwise affected. However, city finance director Nanisa Osborn said the overpass remains on the CIP so if any work to reconnect or reroute High Street at state Route 33 does occur, Canal Winchester will be able to apply for Ohio Department of Transportation funding.

“If we’re ever to get ODOT to do anything there, then it has to be on our CIP, and it’s a huge dollar amount that this city can’t pay for,” Osborn said. “But we aren’t currently applying for any funds and we don’t have plans to.”

Councilwoman Leah Turner agreed.

“We’ve been threatened with this overpass for the past 30 years, and I haven’t seen it yet, so I don’t know when or if it’ll ever happen,” she said.

In other business, council heard the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the city to enter into an agreement with the school district for the construction, operation and maintenance of tennis courts.

Resident Michael Stobart spoke about public access to the shared facility.

“I just want to make sure the public understands when they will have access since it is public funds,” Stobart said. “I completely support public tennis courts.”

Osborn said district and city representatives are “in the process of reaching an agreement with the school as to how that scheduling works.

“The current agreement says that it will not be accessible to the public during school days and during competition; otherwise, it will be open to the public regular city park hours,” she said.

Resident Mike Jones told council he is concerned about the condition of the railroad bridge over Waterloo Street and possible falling debris. Jones provided council with photos took of the crossing.

“(The pictures are) not just the railroad but the base and concrete,” he said. “I’m really concerned because we have people going under there – not just driving but walking – and I’m concerned about safety. We’re going to need something accomplished here, especially if somebody gets hurt.”

Mayor Michael Ebert said the city is in discussions with the railroad company about the bridge and retaining walls but no agreement has been reached yet.

The next city council meeting will be held at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 6, at Town Hall 10 N. High St.