The Village of North Lewisburg is preparing for infrastructure improvements that will allow the village to grow in the future.
Village Administrator Todd Freyhof presented resolutions to council Tuesday night to initiate projects that would improve both water and sewer services to areas of the village.
The larger of the two projects involves installing larger sewer lines to service the west end of town. Freyhof said there have been inquiries about some development on that end of town but the current sewer system won’t support it.
Freyhof said the village has an 8-inch sewer line on the west end of town that runs at capacity several days of the year. This has led to issues where the flow reaches the level of the manhole at four different spots and has created issues in overflowing into the storm sewer lines.
Freyhof said investigation has found that the village is serviced almost exclusively by 8-inch sewers lines. He said the village should see narrow lines feed into wider main lines.
To help remedy the problem, Freyhof said the village would be applying for a Residential Public Infrastructure Grant (RPIG). RPIG money provides grants to small communities in rural areas of Ohio as they work to comply with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency mandates.
Freyhof estimated that the project would cost $1.9 million, of which $750,000 could be covered by RPIG funds. He said the village would perform some of the necessary work as an in-kind contribution. Freyhof said the village will be asking Champaign County to pitch in on the project as well as leveraging developers for funds as well.
The administrator also presented a resolution to pursue Community Development Block Grant money for water system upgrades that include a new village well and aeration unit.
Freyhof explained that the village’s existing wells are not completely encased allowing water to filter through rocks at the bottom. As the wells age, mud and sediment collects at the bottom.
Freyhof said he will be seeking $750,000 to complete the project. He said once a new well is constructed one or two of the old wells could be abandoned.
The administrator also updated council on the maintenance and painting scheduled for the two village water towers. Freyhof said the work will take place on the west tower in May or June and the east tower in September.
When the taller west tower is out of service, the shorter east tower will not create enough water pressure to service the village. The village will need to rent a temporary 25,000-gallon portable unit to keep the water pressure up. This will cost about $20,000 to rent.
When the shorter tower is offline, the taller tower might be able to put out enough water pressure to service the entire village, but there is another problem. Freyhof said portions of the village which are traditionally served by the lower pressure of the east tower might experience problems with the higher pressure.
In other business, council:
•Approved $20,000 to help the village police upgrade 139 East St. so the department can eventually relocate there from village hall.
•Learned that the village is applying for an ODNR grant to assist in repaving the village bike trail/parking lot.
•Learned the spring cleanup is scheduled for April 28-29.
•Learned that the low-to-moderate income study in the village is complete, finding that 54.83% of residents qualify, which is about 5% higher than census figures.
•Learned that the village will pay about $2,100 to the state auditor as late fees for a discrepancy in payments to Ohio Public Employees Retirement System in connection with the newly formed police department. Village Fiscal Officer Jennifer McCombs said the village withheld the money for the payments but the money was not accepted by the state.