North Lewisburg officials are hoping to secure funding to help alleviate storm water drainage in the village.
During Tuesday night’s meeting of village council, administrator Andy Yoder said preliminary engineering work is about to begin on a drainage improvement project that would benefit the south side of the municipality.
Yoder explained that a busted clay storm water tile that runs parallel to Townsend Street has been located and appears to be the cause of standing water in the area after rainfall. The tile runs from Mill Street to Gregory Street before continuing on, but officials are unsure of exactly where the tile dumps water into. Determining the exact course of the tile will be part of the project.
He said crews have tried to clear out the line using a jetter but have had no success. He believes tree roots and other structures have completely collapsed the tile. Yoder said he is certain that a corrective measure will involve at least a portion of the tile being rerouted.
The administrator said the village hopes to create a corrective plan and submit the package for the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) Small Government funding through Champaign County. The annual grant/loan program allows villages and townships of less than 5,000 in population to seek money from a statewide pool of $17.5 million.
Yoder said 2019 is not the ideal year for North Lewisburg to seek such money, because priority for funding works on a four-year rotation. This means projects in other areas of Champaign County would receive priority, this year, over North Lewisburg’s storm water plan.
This does not mean that approaching the OPWC for funding is a lost cause, Yoder explained. He said many other factors play into creating the county’s annual priority list for project funding.
Yoder said the amount of local money a community can provide as a local match toward grant funding also factors into the grading process, as does a municipality’s ability to complete the project with low-interest loan money, rather than outright grand funding.
The village will absorb the initial engineering cost to develope the corrective plan and will then submit its package for OPWC funding which could be awarded this summer.
In other business, council:
-Set 2019 committee appointments.
-Learned the Ginny Davis 5K will be held on April 28 at 1 p.m. at the North Lewisburg Park.
-Heard that the project to dispose old records has been completed and 2,724 pounds of paperwork have been set aside for disposal at a cost of about $400.
-Learned that the 2018 OPWC paving project has been closed out with the final village payment of $28,342.
-Approved a resolution to allow Yoder to sit in place of mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth on the Champaign County Health District Board and Advisory Council.
-Approved village owned items to be sold by internet auction.
-Held an executive session to discuss personnel.