Lower bid, state grant for sewer line give county hope of extending service

The extension could spur development near the interchange, officials said.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A long-awaited sanitary sewer line extension near the Ohio Turnpike interchange near Newton Falls could go out for bid early next month now that a possible successful bid has been received.
Alan Knapp, director of the Trumbull County Planning Commission, said the low bidder, Maruccia & amp; Gaffney of Youngstown, appears to have bid an amount that might be acceptable.
The project was put out for bid twice before, and all the bids came in too high, Knapp said. That problem forced the county to reject those bids and apply for $150,000 in state Issue 2 grant money to make up the difference between the bid amount and the money available.
Knapp said the problem was that increased fuel and steel prices had driven up the bid prices offered last spring.
Approval of the Issue 2 funding came in early November.
Knapp said engineering consultants are examining the bid, and he hoped county commissioners would award the contract to Maruccia & amp; Gaffney at their next meeting Jan. 5. "It looks like it can go," Knapp said.
Project's objectives
The $850,000 project will allow the county to tie into a sewer line now running along state Route 5 that ends at the Holiday Inn Express. The line's extension further east on Route 5 will provide service in Braceville Township to other ventures near the interchange, such as EconoLodge, Budget Lodge, a former truck stop that wants to reopen, and properties owned by Ted Kolacz and Jeff English, Knapp said.
County officials first proposed utility extensions in the area many years ago to increase development near the interchange.
Joseph Angelo, a county commissioner at the time, said the interchange was one of the least-developed interchanges in the state.
The Issue 2 money allows use of $250,000 from the county revolving loan fund and $250,000 from businesses and property owners near the interchange. Tax increment financing will provide an additional $200,000, Knapp said.
runyan@vindy.com