WINONA Sewer project questions answered

Customers will pay about $44 monthly for sewer service.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
WINONA -- Bids for an estimated $1.8 million sewer project in Butler and Hanover townships will determine if customers will pay a tap-in fee, Columbiana County Commissioner Jim Hoppel said.
The commissioners explained the project and the fees at a public meeting Tuesday at Winona fire hall. Hoppel said about 40 people attended.
He said people questioned when the project would begin, how long it would take and what they will be expected to pay. He said most people have accepted that the sewer installation is a must.
Hoppel said commissioners will present the project to the United States Department of Agriculture in about 10 days. The USDA must approve the plan before work can begin, but Hoppel said commissioners are hopeful the bidding process can begin in November.
Hoppel said depending on the weather, work will begin in February or March, and will take about six months to complete.
Hoppel said county officials have worked about two years lining up as many grants as possible to help pay for the undertaking and have succeeded in securing a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state, a $214,700 CDBG from the county and a $397,000 rural development grant from the USDA. The USDA has also approved a low-interest loan of $595,000, Hoppel said.
The loan will be paid back over 40 years, he said.
What's expected
Based on requirements of the grants and the loan, customers will pay about $44 per month for sewer service, Hoppel said. Commissioners hope the bids for the project will come in low enough that customers won't have to pay an additional tap-in fee.
Hoppel said commissioners want to work out the best deal possible for customers.
About 100 households, businesses and churches will be affected by the project to install sewer service to the area.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency issued orders to put in municipal sewers to replace leaking septic tanks that are posing a pollution and health risk.
County Engineer Bert Dawson has said any house or business within 200 feet of the sewer will be required to tap in.
Customers will also have to pay to have the septic tanks filled in, he said.
Plans call for pumping sewage to a county-owned treatment plant along state Route 172 near Guilford Lake.
tullis@vindy.com