MVSD Water rate increase awaits judges' OK

By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
MINERAL RIDGE -- Water rates charged by the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District will increase 36.8 percent in three steps over the next two years if the increases are approved by the court of jurisdiction.
Directors agreed Wednesday to set a new rate schedule increasing rates Nov. 1, and again July 1, 2005, and July 1, 2006. The matter must be approved by the court before the increases can take effect.
The increases would be applied to the cities of Youngstown and Niles -- member cities of the MVSD -- as well as the village of McDonald, which buys water wholesale from the district. If the increases are approved, each municipality could decide whether to pass on all or a portion of the increases to customers, or absorb the costs totally.
Currently, MVSD charges 72.244 cents per 1,000 gallons. The proposal is to increase that to 81.86 cents on Nov. 1, to 92.8 on July 1, 2005, and then to 98.9 cents on July 1, 2006.
The money generated by the increases will be used to fund capital improvement projects.
Thomas Holloway, MVSD chief engineer, has already presented the proposed increases to Niles and Youngstown city councils, and said the issue now has to go to the court before any other action can be taken.
The court of jurisdiction is comprised of one judge each from Mahoning and Trumbull County common pleas courts. Judge Jim Evans of Mahoning and Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull make up the jurisdictional court.
Filter improvement project
Also at the meeting, Holloway told directors that CT Consultants Inc. had reviewed bids received for the district's filter improvement project and have made recommendations on the lowest and best bidders.
Directors could act on awarding the contracts at next month's meeting.
Sixteen companies bid on all or portions of the five contracts, which cover everything from electrical work to asbestos removal.
CT Consultants, project manager, recommended A.P. O'Horo Co. Inc. of Youngstown be awarded contracts for general construction and the filtration system; Conti Corp. of Lowellville for mechanical and electrical work; and Total Environmental Services LLC of Toledo for asbestos removal.
If directors follow the recommendations, the contracts would total $6.46 million, which falls about $400,000 below the original rough estimates for the project. The district has already spent about $400,000 on the project's design work.
Holloway noted that under the Ohio Revised Code, directors have 60 days from the Sept. 16 bid opening to award the contracts.
slshaulis@vindy.com