ThisWeek CW 10/1/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/09/28/gender-groveport-roads-city-wont-seek-opwc-funds-for-intersection.html

Canal Winchester officials opted not to pursue grant funding for upgrades to the Gender and Groveport roads intersectionthis year because of tight deadlines and concerns about the project’s competitiveness.

For the second year in a row, upgrades aimed at easing traffic congestion and increasing safety at the intersection are being put off, according to city engineer Adam Vorhis, who spoke to Canal Winchester City Council Sept. 21 about the staff’s concerns with the project.

According to Vorhis, the project design would increase the number of turn lanes, the layout of a bicycle path and alter a traffic signal pattern, but that’s not why the Ohio Public Works Commission declined the city’s application for funding in 2014. He said the minimal design changes that were planned for this year’s application also wouldn’t affect the project’s competitiveness.

“It wasn’t the design that wasn’t competitive, it was the project, because (the OPWC) gives points based on the economic reinvestment area. Something I don’t want to call a weakness, but worked against us here, is that there hasn’t been a history of big accidents there — even though anyone going through the intersection at rush hour would know the upgrades are needed,” Vorhis said.

Councilwoman Bobbie Mershon asked what would make the project competitive in the future.

“When we originally applied for the grant, it was competitive and scored well enough that it would’ve been funded in the past seven out of 10 years, but the changes to the formula related to economic development meant it didn’t quite score high enough,” Vorhis said.

He said that with the new BrewDog development going in, the project’s score could increase next year.

Vorhis said he and Public Works Director Matt Peoples have been meeting with Madison Township officials about the Gender Road fire station, which could result in a collaborative application next year; that, too, could increase the score, he said.

“We were right at the deadline when we started meeting with Madison Township so we couldn’t get this done properly and in time,” Peoples said.

“Madison Township was disappointed we weren’t trying to move forward with the project, though, as they’re having increasing difficulties with getting trucks out of the station when traffic is heavy there.”

Peoples said equipment used by emergency vehicles to change traffic signals is out of date and needs to be upgraded, which could become another way of increasing the scoring for an OPWC grant application in 2016.

Route 33 soundwall

In other infrastructure news, Vorhis reported that the Ohio Department of Transportation is moving forward with plans to build a soundwall along U.S. Route 33.

“ODOT said it is still moving forward and is programmed for fiscal year 2017, which means the design process should start next July,” he said.

He said residents and city officials should see some surveys regarding the wall’s appearance being sent out by ODOT in about nine months to help prepare for the design phase of the project.

ThisWeek CW 10/1/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/09/28/emergency-sewer-line-repairs-will-cost-1-2m.html

Emergency sewer repairs will be done this fall near Gender Road and Old Creek Lane after city employees discovered extensive corrosion to a main sewer line connecting the south Gender neighborhoods to Canal Winchester’s treatment plant.

Public Works Director Matt Peoples said the $1.2-million project will take place in two phases. During the first phase, the sections of pipe that are most deteriorated will be relined. That work is estimated to cost about $750,000, he said.

The second phase will deal with relining manholes and other lower-priority sections; that work is likely to take place later in 2016.

Water Reclamation Superintendent Steve Smith said the pressurized pipe used to transport wastewater for treatment is about 50 years old and is only a couple years away from a potentially catastrophic failure.

“This pressurized forced sewer main has deteriorated from about where the Grace Bible Church is on Gender Road to the intersection of Old Creek Lane, which is about 600 feet, and then again from a manhole near the curve on Old Creek Lane all the way across the golf course to the treatment plant,” he said.

In August 2013, the city cleared the pipe of about three cubic yards of mostly concrete debris using a heavy-duty vacuum truck, Smith said, and since then, workers have been monitoring the pipes while making plans for how to best repair them.

Smith said the chemicals associated with sewage breaking down in the pipe are corrosive to the concrete liner.

“Right now, there is no emergency but eventually, a break in the pipe will cause a sinkhole and we’ll have to excavate a big, expensive section of smelly pipe in the middle of a nice neighborhood — which will take a long time and a lot of money,” Smith said.

“So what we can do now is to use a process where they inflate what looks like a long plastic sock in the pipe and then impregnate that with a resin that relines the whole pipe without any digging.”

This process can add between 50 and 100 years to the life of the sewer, Smith said.

Peoples said getting these repairs started is also a priority because this is the sewer line that will service the new BrewDog headquarters scheduled to open next July, “so we want this to precede the opening of the brewery.”

Smith added that starting the work in late fall will lessen the impact on residents.

“We’d expect that in about November, we’ll do phase one, because there are less odors in fall and winter and we’ll have to cross the golf course, so we want to impact them as little as possible,” he said.

“We have plenty of capacity for BrewDog as long as we make sure our infrastructure stays safe. With this relining, we should have a long future for this sewer line.”

ThisWeek CW 09/24/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/09/21/one-year-3-milestones-for-central-ohio-couple.html

A Canal Winchester couple is marking three significant milestones this year: two 90th birthday celebrations and 65 years of marriage.

And it all started with an impromptu blind date.

Ray and Pauline Stemen, who have lived in Canal Winchester since 1957, marked their 65th anniversary in March. Ray celebrated his 90th birthday Sept. 7 and Pauline will turn 90 on Oct. 13.

After World War II, Pauline was working at Owens Corning in Newark, where she was raised. Ray, too, was in Newark, where he accepted an apprenticeship “to help with construction of the new atomic plant in Kentucky” after serving in the U.S. Coast Guard during the war and attending the Milwaukee School of Engineering to learn the heating and ventilating trade.

“Owens Corning used to throw these big balls once a year and a girlfriend of mine wanted to go that year with a particular man she was interested in,” Pauline said. “Well, we had to go to a bar to meet up with him, and he was at the bar with Ray, and he said he’d only go with my friend if I went with Ray, so that’s how it started.”

The couple married in 1950, about a year later, and spent the next few years moving around because of Ray’s job. Eventually, Pauline said she wanted to be more settled, so they returned to New Lexington to be near family while Ray took what work he could get out of the local union hall.

“It was New Year’s 1957 and I’d been offered a position with Columbus Heating and Ventilating,” Ray recalled. “It was an inside job so I knew I’d be warm through spring, but I thought they were a little too old-fashioned, so I figured I’d find something else when spring hit.

“But 44 years later, I retired from there at 75 years old.”

The couple has four sons: John, Glen, Randy and David, three of whom still live in the area. They are the proud grandparents of eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

“This was a very nice place to raise children,” Pauline said of Canal Winchester. “My greatest accomplishment was raising four sons who all turned out wonderful.”

Ray acknowledged that his career meant Pauline had a lot more of the responsibility at home.

“We always got along and, of course, I drank my share of the beer at times with the fellas, but we always got along,” he said. “My wife did a great job of keeping the boys in line, taking care of them as children while I worked, because I did a lot of traveling.”

After her youngest child entered fourth grade, Pauline went to work as a pediatric medical assistant, which led her to take on charity work with Grant Medical Center and the Stargazer organization. She said she’s helped organize several charity balls over the years, including the Grant Women’s Service Board’s Candy Cane Charity Ball.

“We’ve always liked to dance. We even have a dance floor in our basement,” she said.

The couple has witnessed a lot of changes in Canal Winchester, but said it’s still the safe place where they raised their family.

“We took part in the Labor Day Festival and it was fun,” Pauline said. “We used to build a float for it every year when the boys were small, and we still like to participate now.”

When asked what’s made the years together special, Pauline said honesty is the best policy.

“We’ve always been very honest with each other and our children have always kept us happy,” she said.

Her advice to young couples who want a long married life together is simple: “Just keep working.”

ThisWeek CW 09/24/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/09/21/drug-take-back-day-other-fall-events-scheduled.html

Canal Winchester and Groveport will both host drug take-back events Saturday, Sept. 26, as part of the 10th annual National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

Canal Winchester’s Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Diley Ridge Medical Center parking lot, 7911 Diley Road.

Groveport’s Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will also run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Groveport Police Department, 5690 Clyde Moore Drive.

These events are free and anonymous, and according to Groveport Police Chief Ralph Portier, “no questions asked.”

Only pills or patches can be accepted; no needle-based or liquid-based medications can be turned in.

“This will be a drive-through-type setting where all you need to do is drop any unwanted prescription drugs and continue on your way,” Canal Winchester Mayor Michael Ebert said. “We’d like to thank our partners and volunteers who help make this event possible, and to once again thank Diley Ridge Medical Center for allowing us to use their property as a drop-off location.”

Hydrant flushing

Canal Winchester has several other fall cleanup events planned over the next few weeks.

The city started flushing hydrants Monday, Sept. 21, and will continue that work through Oct. 16 to help clear sediment out of mainline pipes and verify that all the hydrants are operational.

The Division of Water urges residents to avoid using washing machines or dishwashers when hydrants are being flushed on their streets, and run cold water through the faucets for a few minutes if they notice any discoloration or sediment after the flushing.

Leaf pickups

Canal Winchester will start its annual leaf pickup Oct. 5 and continue through Dec. 4.

Leaf piles must be placed along the street and should contain leaves only because sticks, grass trimmings and other yard waste can damage the leaf-collection equipment.

Tire sweep

Finally, the city’s stormwater department will hold its eighth annual Tire Sweep and Creek Cleanup along Walnut Creek from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Oct. 17. City staff members will work with volunteers to remove tires from a stretch of Walnut Creek from Gender Road to Lithopolis Road, including the Walnut Woods Metro Park.

Those interested in helping should meet at the Metro Parks office at 6723 Lithopolis Road at 8 a.m. Parking is available at Winchester Trail Elementary School on Gender Road or Walnut Creek Park at the end of Parkview Drive; from there, volunteers can walk along the creek toward the Metro Parks office.

For additional information, about the event, call Metro Parks Manager Mindi McConnell at 614-836-2683 or Canal Winchester Urban Forester Dick Miller at 614-834-5110. Miller may also be contacted via email at dmiller@canalwinchesterohio.gov.

ThisWeek CW 09/24/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/09/21/new-groveport-madison-high-school-board-oks-51-4m-maximum-price-for-project.html

The numbers are in and Groveport Madison Local school district officials have approved a $51,428,964 guaranteed maximum price for a new high school.

School board members voted unanimously Sept. 9 to approve a reconciliation between the cost a VSWC architect estimated when the initial schematic design was done and the estimate for completing the work devised by Smoot Construction, the construction manager for the project.

Superintendent Bruce Hoover said there had been a gap of more than $12 million before the reconciliation was completed. This gap represented the difference between what the architect had designed and believed would fit within the district’s projected budget and how much more the construction manager believed it would actually cost to complete, Hoover said.

“Ultimately, the approved reconciliation shows a positive cash flow of $71,237 with a number of alternative items still included in the schematic design,” he said.

The district is anticipating that a second submission of project costs will be provided to the board by mid-October as part of the detailed design phase.

“These are important steps to keep the high school project moving forward and to prevent costly delays in the construction of the facility,” Hoover said.

Besides the approval of the guaranteed maximum price for the new high school, board members unanimously approved $24,000 for VSWC architects to evaluate costs associated with relocating the bus facility to a recently acquired building at 4400 Marketing Place, which is also slated to house district administrative offices and Cruiser Academy.

Changes are occurring already as trees are being removed from in front of existing buildings to allow utilities to be relocated and temporary modular classrooms to be installed.

Hoover said some of the trees that were removed had been planted in honor of former students, but the district would inventory all the associated plaques and the trees will be replaced with specimens of similar size and variety.

“We want this new site to be beautiful,” Hoover said. “Part of our goal is a facility that’s ‘green’ in energy efficiency and appearance.”

To that end, he said the district plans to plant between 75 and 175 new trees and up to 300 new bushes as part of the project.