HANOVERTON Officials delay sewer hearing
The mayor said cost information would be made available at the public hearing when it is held sometime early next year.
By SUE DROTLEFF
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HANOVERTON -- Residents wanting to know about the proposed plan for a sewer in the village and surrounding area will have to wait a while longer for the public hearing.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is being asked to wait as well.
Mayor Dan Kibler said village officials had hoped to hold public hearings about the sewer project in either November or December. The Ohio EPA has ordered the village and the nearby community of Kensington to come up with plans to abate septic tank failures, which have resulted in pollution in local waterways.
The EPA has requested Hanoverton's plan be submitted to it by Jan. 7.
Kensington, which is unincorporated, is being represented by the Columbiana County commissioners. The county had agreed to split the plan cost with Hanoverton because the communities are so close together. Kensington's plan for abatement must be submitted to the EPA by March 26.
Proposals
Kibler told members of village council Monday that he met last week with MS Consultants Inc. of Youngstown to review initial proposals. Among the options considered by MS are plans calling for Hanoverton and Kensington to each have their own treatment plant, one plant for both communitities, or to send waste to the Guilford Lake treatment plant.
Of those options, a combined plant for both communities is the cheapest, Kibler said, but noted only about 400 households would be part of that plant.
Kibler said this would, in turn, make it very expensive from initial cost projections made by MS. Kibler declined to reveal MS's cost estimates, saying there was uncertainty about what grants and loans might be available to help reduce that cost, and further savings might come during the design phase of the project.
Kibler noted the cost information would be made available at the public hearing when it is held sometime early next year.
Council approved asking for a delay in submitting the plan to the EPA until the March 26 deadline imposed on Kensington. Kibler noted the plan has not yet been presented to council and with the holidays approaching, it would be difficult to present it and hold the public hearing before the Jan.7 deadline. With the extension, which Kibler expects to be granted, village officials will have more time to consider funding sources and get the public hearing scheduled.
Refuse licenses
In other matters, council approved an unlimited number of licenses for those wanting to collect refuse in the village. Previously the village restricted the number of licenses to three with haulers required to renew their license annually in December at a cost of $100 for the ensuing year.
There are now three waste haulers licensed within the village, but in November area resident Al Lewis approached council about obtaining a license. To create more competition, and possibly drive down costs for residents, council agreed Monday to have an unlimited number of licenses available.