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Construction of Fort Recovery's new 250,000-gallon water tower, located on State Route 49 about a quarter mile north of the American Legion, has made significant progress. The project is due to be completed in July.
FORT RECOVERY - Fort Recovery's second water tower is starting to take shape, village administrator Randy Diller informed councilors at their regular meeting on Monday night.
"Most steel and welding should be done by mid-April," he said. "That will be followed by electrical, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and final plumbing installation."
The painting portion of the project will have to wait until weather warms up in around April or May, he continued.
The tower's waterline has been completed and is online, Diller previously said.
The village was awarded a $1.25 million state grant and $600,000 from the state's capital budget for the construction of a 250,000-gallon water tower. Village officials will also allocate $450,000 from the water tower improvement and water capital funds for the project.
Councilors in May 2024 awarded a $2.4 million contract to Caldwell Tanks Inc. of Louisville, Kentucky, to construct the additional water tower to accommodate an increase in daily water consumption.
The final completion date remains July 2025.
Construction of Fort Recovery's new 250,000-gallon water tower, located on State Route 49 about a quarter mile north of the American Legion, has made significant progress. The project is due to be completed in July.
In other business, councilors heard that Tom's Construction began the Butler Street reconstruction project this week, Diller said.
"(They) have a good stretch of the waterline installed," he said. "We are dealing with the trucks trying to bypass the detour and trying our best to keep portions of the street open to local traffic."
Weather permitting, Diller said that the waterline should be done this next week.
"And (they will) likely get started on the storm work," he continued. "Their schedule has them completing the asphalt around the first of June. Traffic signal poles may be later and we will likely need to install a four-way stop should that occur."
The project was previously set to begin in June or July, in February Tom's Construction informed the village they could move that date up.
Contracts were signed with Tom's Construction of St. Henry in early October 2024 in the amount of $1.43 million for the project.
Bids came in lower than the engineer's estimate of $1.6 million. The village received two other bids from Shinn Brothers of Celina and M&T Excavation of Bradford.
The project includes a total reconstruction of Butler Street from Fort Site Street to Main Street, according to Diller. This will include new curbs, sidewalks, street lights, water lines and a replacement of the traffic signal at the intersection of Butler and Wayne streets.
The village received $1.01 million in grant funds for the project.
The project must be completed by next September.
Also, councilors:
• learned that the administration received nine applications for the assistant village administrator position. The hiring committee met prior to the council meeting to review applications and determine the path forward.
• heard the Center/Elm streets pedestrian crossing project is complete. The school issued its reimbursement payment for half of the project, and the village installed two signs to bring attention to stopping while someone is in the crosswalk.
• heard that the village will have WaterSolve of Kent County, Michigan, instead of the Ohio Rural Water Association, provide them with a sludge report and tests on the wastewater treatment lagoons to compare to previous reports. Diller is also working with ORWA to update the village's surcharge ordinance. Once the final sludge amounts are determined, Diller said they will get a final cost estimate and inquire about a bid for removal.
The village council meets next at 7:30 p.m. April 7 in council chambers.
