By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
A project to update Swanton’s Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) at a potential cost of more than $9 million will soon be out to bid.
Swanton Village Council members authorized the bid process for the project during their meeting Monday. With that authorization, the request for bids is set to be issued in October.
WRRF Superintendent Mikael Stiles said the project is already slightly behind schedule, but that the timing for bids is ideal, coming after contractors have completed most of their major projects for the year but before their break during the holidays and before they start their next slate of projects in the spring.
Stiles added that the roughly $9 million estimate includes $2 million to $3 million in padding for planning purposes, but that it is possible bids could come in as low as the mid-$6 million range depending on how competitive the bidding process ends up.
Councilors had a discussion on the benefits and negatives associated with using either a 20-year or 30-year term for the project loan, but Finance Director Holden Benfield said he won’t be able to provide them with exact details on the differences until the bids come in.
Benfield did say that the base cost difference in interest between the two terms was roughly $234,000 if the cost comes in at the $9 million number and they borrow $6 million.
Three million dollars of the cost will be covered by a grant approved for the village by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
OTHER BUSINESS
Mayor Neil Toeppe read a proclamation designating Oct. 8-14 as Fire Prevention Week. A moment of silence was held in remembrance of the 2,977 lives lost in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The council ended the public portion of the meeting by entering executive session to discuss personnel matters.
Jesse can be reached at jesse@thevillagereporter.com.