JEFFERSON — The Ashtabula County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to open the Austinburg sanitary sewer project for bids.
“It’s been a long haul, but the end is finally in sight,” said Board President Peggy Carlo in a prepared statement. “We are looking at receiving bids on Dec. 2, with a ‘substantial’ completion date by next December.”
The entire project, including site restoration, must be wrapped up by May 2011.
The project’s cost has been estimated at $2.7 million, with funding coming from Ohio Public Works ($474,600), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ($655,000) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) ($825,000). The balance of the funding will come through assessments, which will not exceed $43 per foot. If final costs are less, property owners will see the assessment drop; if they are higher, the county will have to bear the difference.
Because of the project’s size and the sluggish economy, commissioners anticipate a large number of contractors will bid on the work. Bid specifications emphasize the use of Ohio materials and labor in the project, and the project will be bid at prevailing wages, commissioners said.
A prebid conference has been set for 1 p.m. Nov. 18 in the commissioners’ meeting room.
The project area includes the intersection of state routes 307 and 45, Industrial Drive, and Mill, Chestnut, Betts and Maple streets. About 9,700 feet of gravity pipe and about 5,000 feet of “force main pipe” will be installed, along with a pump station and other auxiliary improvements.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in late 2005 mandated the improvements after studies showed that at least 55 of 84 homes in the Austinburg village area had nonfunctioning septic systems. As a result, nearby Coffee Creek was being polluted by runoff. While most of the homes in the area have public water supplies, eight of 18 wells tested positive for fecal coliform organisms and were deemed unsafe.
Long property frontages in the affected area presented a huge financial burden for residents who would have to bear the cost of the project, initially estimated at $2.1 million. Assessments would have been $140 per foot.
“The commissioners knew that we had to start looking for ways to bring those assessments down,” said Commissioner Daniel Claypool. “The affected property owners were upset, and we certainly understood why.”
An aggressive all-out effort by affected residents, the county, Austinburg Township and elected officials at all levels was put forth to identify and work to secure funding. Commissioners were granted an 18-month extension in May 2008. Claypool said the delay actually worked in the residents’ favor because ARRA money became available in the interim.
Commissioners earlier this year decided upon a gravity system over the less-expensive vacuum-collection system, based upon 50-year-life-cycle costs. The gravity system is expected to be less expensive in the long run.
The bid opening is set for Dec. 2.
Companies interested in bidding can find information at ashtabulacounty.us under the “public notices” link. Bid specifications, drawings and other information are online (www.ctconsultants.com/bidinfo).
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County OKs sewer project bid phase
Austinburg project espected to be completed by December 2010
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