By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Greenville City Council heard discussion on Tuesday regarding a proposal to build an approximately $16.9 million wastewater treatment plant. A resolution to advertise for bids was on the agenda but due to two members being absent the council could not vote on the resolution.

Safety Service Director Ryan Delk shared that funding for the new plant would not come out of the general fund. Wastewater enterprise funds would be used to pay for the construction project if approved by the council. The new solids handling and treatment plant would remain in the same location as the current plant.

Jones and Henry Engineering, out of Toledo, has prepared the specifications and according to Delk, has worked through the current issues the plant has with being located in a floodplain.

In 2005, a study was conducted on the wastewater treatment and the solids handling part of the plant was in imminent danger of catastrophic failure. “We started working and talking on this project about three years ago, now. We did a study. Council at that point authorized us to hire Jones and Henry to start the design work for this project,” he said. The cost of the engineering, $1.7 million, has been paid upfront. Since beginning that work, Delk pointed out the plant has had a pump failure and put a temporary pump in place and they have had issues with multiple breaks on the line to the landfill. He added the biosolids sludge is currently pumped out and held in a lagoon. The lagoon is pumped out once or twice a year and the sludge is injected into farm fields.

Delk noted the administration building was built in 1936 and is failing. He said it needs a roof and needs a lot of maintenance and upkeep. They had originally discussed not including a new administration building in the proposal and building that at a later time, but that would mean the cost of the running the controls would be doubled because they would have to be installed in the old administration building and then again in a new building five or 10 years down the road. Delk didn’t believe that would be cost effective.

By building a new plant, the city would be able to do away with the lagoon at the landfill. The waste would no longer be sludge and would be a “cake”. The options for disposing of the cake are better. Unlike liquid applications to farm fields, the “cake” can sit in the fields a little longer and does not have to be injected instantly and during dry periods. Also, if needed, the waste can be taken directly to Rumpke in Hamilton County for disposal.

The facility would include three digesters, but there would be enough space to include a fourth digester if Greenville sees growth. Total construction would also include a new administration building that is elevated because it is in a floodplain, garage, solids handling building and solids holding area.

The city would seek a 30-year EPA loan. Delk said the $16.9 million estimated cost is a worst-case scenario. The current rate for the EPA loan is 2.86 percent, but they are hoping that will decrease by the time they are ready to finish the paperwork.

Delk’s timeline for this project would be to have the bids received by December and council to accept the bid in early January. The paperwork for the loan would be completed in March. The total construction project would take two years to complete.

The city currently receives $4.5 million in revenue for wastewater funds and the plant costs $2.1 million to operate. Under the worst-case scenario, the city would pay nearly $1 million a year on the loan. This would leave the wastewater treatment plant with an additional $1 million for other projects that need to be completed.

The council will hear the second reading of the resolution at its next meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15 and will have an opportunity to decide if they want to move forward. Delk reminded members they can bid the project, but they don’t have to award the contract if they are not happy with the bids.

City council heard from residents who live on the corner of East Fourth and Grant Streets. When construction was being done on North Ohio Street the residents received a letter stating there would be no parking signs erected temporarily to handle the traffic flow from the North Ohio Street traffic that was being diverted. The project was completed a couple of years ago, but the signs have remained. The residents on one side of Grant Street have had 71-feet of their 97-feet of frontage eliminated as possible parking space. According to the resident, the homes on the other side of Grant Street only had 46-feet eliminated by the no parking signs.

One of the households impacted has five licensed drivers in the home and there is not enough space for parking. The residents have been warned by the Greenville Police Department in the past and one of them was told it was by order of Council President John Baumgardner that they move their vehicle. The resident pointed out the council president does not have the authority to instruct the police department to carryout orders. According to the chain of command, the mayor must give that instruction. Baumgardner responded by saying, “I’d appreciate the police department not throwing me under the bus.”

Residents on the corner would like to see the parking spaces go back to what they were prior to the construction on North Ohio Street and/or a four-way stop be installed at the intersection. One of the residents said he has witnessed several accidents at the intersection. He sees motorists on Grant Street believing it is a four-way stop and entering into the intersection as another vehicle is coming through.

Council President Baumgardner asked the council’s Safety Committee to look at the issue and come back with a report by the next meeting of the council. The Safety Committee has scheduled a meeting for Monday, Oct. 7, 6 p.m., to discuss the issue.

The council also heard from a resident near the intersection of West Third and Vine Streets about the number of vehicles that “blow” the stop sign or are speeding around the curve on West Third Street when children are being picked up for school or being dropped off from school. She noted they have asked the school district to move the bus stop and believes that will be done soon. There are about 17 children that ride the bus in that area and the majority have to cross the street to get to the bus stop. Council President Baumgardner asked Chief Ryan Benge if the police department could step up patrols in that area and the chief agreed to have officers present in that area.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].