By Frank Lewis
New Boston Village Administrator Steve Hamilton and Village Solicitor Justin Blume signed stacks of papers Monday morning, and when the signing was done the village was on its way to phase 3 of the New Boston Combined Sewer System improvement project.
Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers joined local officials to sign the project partnership agreement for the project that has a $1 million price tag for the federal government, and carries a $333,000 match from the village.
“Today we signed the partnership agreement which is the officially binding document that authorizes funding from the 594 program to the village of New Boston for use in their sewer system upgrades,” Stephen Porter, Section 594 program manager with the Corps of Engineers, said. “This program is a match program, so the federal government provides 75 percent, and the local sponsor, the village of New Boston will provide 25 percent and then we work in partnership to complete their infrastructure upgrades.”
Porter said the reimbursement process also began on Monday.
“Steve Hamilton has provided what we would call our first reimbursement request,” Porter said. “We will review that to make sure that its applicable to the project that we’ve identified and then we will, through direct deposit, fund 75 percent of the total reimbursement fee sent to us back to the village. The sponsor will pay for the work while it’s going on, then they request reimbursement from us.”
Hamilton said phase 3 will not burden New Boston taxpayers further.
“One good thing about it is that we have already done design work for this phase 3. It was done back in phase 1 but (Village) Council, the mayor-then, and myself, the village didn’t have the funds to match it, so the stuff that I handed him today, the invoices is back whenever we bid out phase 1,” Hamilton said. “So we’ve got close to $340,000 right now that has already been done. Core drillings, cleanings, sewers, planning of phase 3, the GEO-tech technical part of phase 3. Plus we have a zero percent loan through OWDA (Ohio Water Development Authority) so this part of it will not hurt the people of the village whatsoever, because I have already turned in invoices for work that has already been done and we have already paid them.”
Joining Hamilton and Blume were New Boston mayor Junior Williams, Kris Ruggles of Strand Associates, Corey Weaver, project manager and New Boston Councilmen Ralph Imes, Don Raike, Mike Payton and Vonald Patrick.
“If it wasn’t for the mayor and the council backing me in this, none of this would have come to be,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said phase 3 is to be bid out in three alternate bids, and he laid out the plans for each phase.
Phase 3-A will be installing the 72-inch pipe from Rhodes Avenue to Gallia Street. Phase 3-B will take the pipe up to the front of the old Glenwood High School and will catch all the stormwater from Glenwood and will take an increased amount of stormwater out of the combined sewer. Phase 3-C will consist of televising and cleaning of sewer lines.
Reach Frank Lewis at 740-353-3101, ext. 1928, or on Twitter @franklewis.
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