TRUMBULL COUNTY Warren, Lordstown discuss water pact

The entities have been operating under a contract that expired in 2001.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
and DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
Warren and Lordstown are negotiating an agreement for Warren to continue to supply water to the General Motors assembly plant and some village residents, but some Lordstown officials aren't quite ready to sign off on the deal.
City, company and village representatives have been trying to hammer out an agreement, but at least one member of the Lordstown Board of Public Affairs -- a board that oversees water operations in the village -- has concerns about the proposal.
The water contract between Warren and Lordstown expired in 2001, and the municipalities have continued to operate under the terms of the old pact.
Lordstown also has a water supply contract with Niles.
"GM wanted to have a contract in place that guarantees them a redundant line," said Warren Mayor Hank Angelo, referring to the reasoning behind the village's decision to have two water supplies.
State law
The village is taking advantage of a state law that allows it to buy water and resell it. The water from Niles through the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District serves as the primary water source for the GM fabricating plant, the backup for the assembly plant and the leading water supply to other businesses and residents of the village.
Warren ran a line from Mosquito Reservoir to the GM assembly plant about the time the plant was built. The city also supplies a backup water supply to the GM fabricating plant.
Steve Pelo, one of three members of Lordstown's public affairs board, said he wants to see the new agreement allow Lordstown to do what it wants with the water once it's purchased from Warren.
"There's a paragraph in there that says we can't sell the water outside our own water district without Warren's approval," he said, adding he would like to see that language taken out.
Since Lordstown has become its own water district, Pelo said, there should be no reason the village can't buy water from both Warren and Niles, hold it in reserve tanks and sell it to whom it wants, when it wants, including businesses and residents outside the village water district.
Prevents mixing
That contract provision, Angelo explained, is to keep the village from mixing water from other sources, which could cause problems because of the various chemical makeups from one water supplier to another.
"We would not withhold approval without cause," the mayor said. "I don't see a cause that we would withhold."
Under the new proposal, the village would pay $2.34 per 1,000 gallons. That's down from $2.51 per 1,000 gallons under the agreement that expired a few years ago.
Though the costs are spelled out in the contract, other issues aren't, Pelo said.
He has questions about who will maintain quality control of the water, who will absorb the costs of those tests and which municipality will be responsible for ensuring the water quality meets standards set not only by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, but also the village.
"I want to make sure the water will be maintained to our specifications," Pelo said.
What Warren wants
The city wants to maintain the lines, meters, hydrants and other equipment and send one bill for the water to the village, which would bill its customers. The city also would be responsible for water-quality testing, Angelo said.
The city has excess water capacity that it wants to see used.
"Hopefully, we'll be selling more to the village of Lordstown," he said.
Pelo said he plans to ask for a special meeting of village council and BPA members within the next week to discuss the contract and see where the village stands.
The BPA would have to vote on whether to approve the contract and forward that decision to village council for a final decision.
slshaulis@vindy.comdenise.dick@vindy.com