Waterline project delay due to disagreement

WARREN -- Braceville Township trustees think a waterline extension could provide relief for property owners whose water wells are infected with E. coli, but disagreement among Trumbull County commissioners has delayed the project.
Trustees Brian Smith and Dennis Kuchta asked commissioners Wednesday about the status of the project to extend a waterline on Braceville-Robinson Road about 14,000 feet, past the fire station.
Testing by health officials found E. coli bacteria in wells around the county caused by flooding.
A state Issue 2 loan is being used to pay for the $673,135 waterline extension project, which was proposed last year when many wells around Vaughn Elementary School tested positive for potentially dangerous levels of arsenic.
In March, the county sanitary engineer's office sent information from the 11 engineering firms that submitted proposals for the project to commissioners for their review, said Thomas Holloway, the county's sanitary engineer.
Commissioners were to select a firm after which the sanitary engineer's office was to negotiate a price with that firm.
Commissioners can't agree on a firm.
"I picked one firm, Commissioner [James G.] Tsagaris picked a second firm and Commissioner [Michael J.] O'Brien picked another one," said Commissioner Joseph J. Angelo Jr.
"We've never had this happen before," Angelo said.
He said he would request an opinion from the county prosecutor's office on how to proceed.
"This project has been delayed long enough," Angelo said.
Kuchta agrees.
"This is ridiculous," he told commissioners. "We have a health hazard and we're playing games and I don't like it."
Although the E. coli bacteria was found after flooding, Smith wonders how long it's been present in wells in the township.
"I'm sure if they did more tests on other wells, they'd find it there, too," he said.
Township residents have been relying on bottled water for drinking.