MAHONING VALLEY Official: MVSD still needs improvements

Water rates might have to go up to pay for capital improvements that are still needed.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
MINERAL RIDGE -- About five years ago, a multimillion-dollar capital improvement project at the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District stalled, but the need for the upgrades hasn't gone away.
"Our equipment has greatly exceeded its design life," said David Tabak, chief engineer at a board of directors meeting Wednesday.
Some of the equipment at the plant is 70 years old, he said. The capital improvement project started in 1986 and was to be completed in 1999.
"Here we are in 2002 and we still have a lot that needs to be done," he said.
Halted in '97: The project stopped in 1997 when a special audit of the district by state Auditor Jim Petro's office that found that the board's two former directors had mismanaged the project and Gilbane Building Co. of Rhode Island had collected fees for work that wasn't done.
The portion of the project completed totals about $32.5 million. About $49 million in improvements, including upgrades of the filtration system and administration building and improvements to the instrument used in the facility's operations, are still proposed and recommended. To complete them, water rates would likely have to increase, but when and by how much hasn't been determined, Tabak said.
Masonry work, roof repairs and window replacements are also recommended, according to Craig Juday of CT Consultants, a Willoughby, Ohio, the engineering company.
Safety concerns: Charles Schmidt of Schmidt Associates Inc., a Cleveland consulting engineering company, told board members the heating systems at the plant must be addressed because of safety concerns. Conditions of some of the heating equipment presents a danger to people working in the facility, he said.
Juday proposed a three-to-five-year interim capital improvement program which would cost between $18 million and $25 million. That would permit priorities such as the filtration and heating systems to be addressed.
Tabak said several funding sources would have to be considered, including district funds, revenue bonds or a loan through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency or Ohio Water Development Authority.
"I would encourage you to start the education process with the two member cities so we can start educating both cities of what the needs are," said Matthew J. Blair, director. "The fact is most of these improvements are absolutely necessary."
dick@vindy.com