State, federal grants funded Leetonia work

Village officials will seek funding to extend a waterline.
& lt;a href=mailto:tullis@vindy.com & gt;By NANCY TULLIS & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- Much of the infrastructure work in the village since 2000 would not have happened without assistance from state and federal grants, village Administrator Gary Phillips said.
The village has completed projects and bought equipment at a total cost of $2,446,565. Of that, the village paid $171,656.
The largest project was constructing a sewage treatment building that included a chemical-free, ultraviolet filtering system. The village paid $22,413 of an $885,04 project, with the remainder funded by grants.
Phillips said that not only did the grant for the construction save the village thousands of dollars, but the use of ultraviolet filtering rather than chlorination is an ongoing savings.
He said the ultraviolet filtering is the last process in sewage treatment before the treated sewage is released into a nearby stream. The ultraviolet process is more economical and more environmentally friendly than a chlorination system, he said.
No chemical needed
With a chlorination system, chlorine is added to sewage to kill bacteria, and after the sewage is filtered another chemical is added to remove the chlorine. With an ultraviolet system, the sewage passes through an area where it is exposed to ultraviolet light, and the light kills the bacteria.
The village also bought two backup generators, one for the police and fire departments, and the other for a backup generator for the water plant.
The generator for police and fire departments was a federal Homeland Security grant of $14,500, and the village paid the $5,599 balance. The backup generator for the water plant was $39,000, of which the village paid $3,000. The remainder was paid with a Community Development Block Grant.
Waterline funding
Phillips said he plans to seek another such grant to extend a 12-inch waterline on the east side of the village. He said the new waterline will compliment the smaller line in the area and extend to the city limits for future growth.
The line ends on Columbia Street south of the railroad. It would follow Columbia Street east to Wilson Street, then go north on Wilson to Cherry Fork Street and then east on Cherry Fork to Beeson Mill Road.