TRUMBULL COUNTY Commissioners strive to start waterline work

Arsenic was found in 38 residential wells and the water supply for an school.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners say they will choose an engineer for a Braceville waterline project next week, after holding up construction seven months with their indecision.
"We need to get past this hurdle and get on with this project," township Trustee Brian Smith told commissioners Wednesday.
Progress on the waterline -- which is to bring Newton Falls water to dozens of homes and Vaughn Elementary School, where well water has tested dangerously high for arsenic -- has been stalled since March, when commissioners failed to agree on an engineer.
Asked for review
Commissioners signed a letter Wednesday asking purchasing director Tony Carson Jr. to review companies each of the three commissioners picked for the roughly $86,000 engineering contract, then decide among the three by Friday.
Commissioner James Tsagaris said LDC Inc. is best suited for the job. Commissioner Joseph J. Angelo picked DLZ, and Commissioner Michael O'Brien picked Thomas Fok & amp; Associates.
"This is one of the few times the commissioners can't make a decision," Angelo said.
The line is to be built with a $673,000 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission, said sanitary engineer Thomas Holloway.
Work on the waterline, which will extend two miles on Braceville-Robinson Road, was to have begun this fall, Holloway said.
After an engineer is picked and a price negotiated, it will take about a month to design plans for the line, which will serve 68 customers including the school building.
Using bottled water
The school had to start providing bottled water for pupils after elevated levels of arsenic were discovered in its wells eight months ago, said Frank Migliozzi, environmental health director for the Trumbull County Health Department.
High arsenic levels were confirmed by several subsequent tests, he said.
Potentially dangerous arsenic also has been found in 38 private wells in the area.
The waterline will not reach some of homes in the area, including two on state Route 82 and four on Nelson Moser Road.
siff@vindy.com