STICKER SHOCK … Troy Brehmer (left) with Jones & Henry Engineers, Ltd., and Water Resource Recovery Facility Superintendent Mike Stiles (right) delivered news of project cost increases totaling $3.75 million to the Swanton Village Council on Monday. (PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS, STAFF)
By: Jesse Davis
Ballooning costs across multiple projects left one member of the Swanton Village Council with his head in his hands during Monday evening’s meeting.
Immediately after hearing a trio of combined sewer separation projects received no bids due to an estimated cost increase from the $3.15 million initially advertised to roughly $4 million, the council was told the cost necessary upgrades to the Village’s Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) had jumped from $4.6 million to $7.5 million.
“We just barely choked down a million-dollar add for those three projects. Oh my god,” Councilman Derek Kania said.
According to Troy Brehmer with Jones & Henry Engineers, Ltd., no bids were received on Village projects 3, 11, and 12, as the companies expected to submit them also reached the conclusion that the total cost of the projects would be about $850,000 higher than the request for bids indicated.
He added that a project in West Unity recently received no bids for a similar reason, and that many projects in the region were receiving bids much higher than initially expected.
Brehmer indicated that staff at the Ohio Department of Environmental & Financial Assistance (DEFA) – through which the Village is obtaining financing for the projects – was seeing a lot of these situations as well.
“That’s just the environment we’re in, unfortunately,” he said.
Despite the size of the cost increase, DEFA reported to Brehmer that it was willing to approve funding in excess of the regularly authorized 10% overage, assuming the Village was willing and able to take on the additional associated costs.
Council member David Pilliod estimated those additional costs plus interest to be roughly $50,000 per month across the 20-year term of the loan, which already had a monthly price tag of $200,000. Because of the necessity of the projects, however, Pilliod added that “I don’t see we have much choice.”
A large portion of the increased costs are related to areas that must be excavated under Airport Highway.
The second shoe dropped during the update given by Water Resource Recovery Facility Superintendent Mike Stiles.
That project includes a new headworks with a self-cleaning screen in order to better cope with the amount of wipes being flushed down toilets by users of the village’s wastewater system.
It also involves a completely new building, new raw pumps, the ability to move to a new software system, combining two existing basins into one, and removing some original structures which have been in use since 1956.
“It’s not going to get cheaper. I’ve been told by engineers, manufacturers, and contractors alike that this is the new standard.”
“Prices will not be dropping,” Stiles said, later adding that “everything that can be done to reduce the cost has been done, so there is no more value engineering that I can do.”
He said they are looking into the possibility of any package deals from manufacturers on the equipment being purchased, but that he did not expect it to make much of a cost difference.
“It’s a small plant that already exists. We’re going to be digging where there’s already existing basins. Nothing’s going to be easy or cheap about this, and it’s not going to get cheaper if we keep waiting,” Stiles said.
When pressed on whether the facility currently met the standards required by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Stiles said they were in compliance to the best of his ability to run the plant, and that nothing they had received from the agency would impair the project or cause any issues.
The main chunk of funding for that project is also made up of financing through the DEFA.
For both situations, the council recommended Village Administrator Shannon Shulters and Finance Director Holden Benfield crunch the new numbers, determine the impact on the village, and report back to the council in order to determine a final course of action.
A third cost increase related to the Village’s upcoming Independence Day festivities was reported by Shulters during her report.
She said the previous provider of portable toilet services for the event was sold to a competitor and the price for the service had doubled.
Preparations for the Saturday, July 1 holiday celebration have begun, with vendors organized and contact made with the Fulton County Amateur Radio Club to assist in directing traffic. Volunteers are still being sought for Sunday morning clean-up following the event.
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Superintendent of Public Service Operations Neil Tedrow reported on several repairs and projects being undertaken by his department, including emergency storm sewer main repairs completed after a sinkhole developed in a farmer’s field behind the Dollar General.
According to Tedrow, the main didn’t show up on their maps, but they were able to locate where it ran and tied into the rest of the system. He said the initial repairs were completed but the line itself is in rough shape.
“As we were digging, [the sewer tiles] would crack and crack and crack. So I think we put 9 or 10 feet of plastic pipe in until we got far enough back that we got to a good tile that would hold,” Tedrow said.
“But the tile behind that one we could see had a crack in it, too, so it’s probably just a matter of time before I’ll be back there again.”
The department shut off water to the location of the former Swanton Health Care despite the belief that it had already been shut off some time ago.
After the current owners reported hearing the sound of water in the walls, a leak was discovered which is estimated to have released 150,000 gallons.
Tedrow also described to the council a challenging but swift replacement of the water meter at the Swan Coin Laundry, as well as providing updates on ongoing or upcoming repairs to other sinkholes and to private yards damaged by previous digging projects and snow plowing.
Village-wide brush pick-up was reported to be complete.
APPROPRIATION CHANGES
The Council approved several changes to appropriations. An additional $2,178.87 was appropriated across three uniform and clothing lines to cover needs for the remainder of the year for employees in multiple departments.
An apparent failure to previously appropriate funds for approved professional and technical services being provided by Shoaf Consulting led the council to appropriate the necessary $9,825 to cover the current invoice.
Due to the purchase of some equipment for the WRRF no longer being necessary, $140,000 in prior line-item appropriations were eliminated in order to free up those funds for other uses.
An appropriation of $36,711 was eliminated from a water plant contingency line item and moved to its machinery line item.
POLICE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL UPDATES
The village has received 12 applications for the open police chief position according to Mayor Neil Toeppe.
That position was vacated by former Chief Adam Berg after he resigned April 24 in order to take a patrolman position at the Archbold Police Department. Interviews for the top candidates were set to begin May 10.
Once a new chief has been hired, the department will seek to hire additional patrol officers.
The council also accepted the resignation of Officer James Brazeau III effective May 25. Officer Brazeau has taken a new position as an officer with the Perrysburg Police Department.
OTHER ITEMS
– Finance Director Benfield was directed by the council to look further into federal tax withholdings from Village employees after he reported a supposed $1.6 million total withheld. According to Council Member Pilliod, that would amount to more than $30,000 per employee across the Village’s roughly 50 employees. An error in the number reported, not withheld, was suspected.
– The council voted to abandon an easement on the property at 3010 Waterville-Swanton Road.
– Mayor Toeppe proclaimed the week of May 14-20, 2023, as National Police Week and the week of May 21-27, 2023, as National Emergency Medical Services Week.
– All departments met with a local Spectrum sales manager regarding their phone systems, which are currently serviced by either Spectrum, CenturyLink, or Verizon.
– New cameras have been installed in Memorial Park and are viewable in the Swanton Police Department or the file room of the Administration Office.
– Village Administrator Shulters reported that she attended “Real Money, Real World” at Delta High School.
– Adopt-A-Benches were ordered for the playground at Memorial Park.
– Bulk pick-up day is scheduled for Saturday, May 13, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
– Hydrant flushing will begin May 15 and last through the beginning of July.
– Minutes for the April 24 meeting were approved.
Council member Patrick Messenger was absent from the meeting.
Jesse can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com.
