Officials offer to meet with Salem's utility

The commissioner said the debate about supplying water to the prison is moot.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County and Buckeye Water District officials said they'd be willing to meet with officials from the Salem Utilities Commission.
That olive branch could be the start of cooperation between officials from the county and the two water providers on development projects.
"There is plenty of water to be sold and plenty of money to be made, if we can get together," Jim Hoppel, chairman of the commissioners, said Wednesday.
He added, "We want to commit to working with Salem."
County officials for years asked the city for water to supply other areas in the county.
Salem's general policy is that property must be annexed into the city to get water and sewer service.
The commissioners have wanted water service to the jail, the Tobin Center for troubled youths, the Robert Bycroft School and Sheltered Workshops for youths and adults with disabilities west of Lisbon, and the general area north of Lisbon.
The hard well water at the facilities corrodes pipes and fixtures, Hoppel said.
The commissioner added that the county controls water service in the county's jurisdiction.
Income loss
City officials have been lamenting the loss of 275,000 a year for selling water to the federal prison and Elkton and the sewer plant that serves the prison and the village of Lisbon.
When the prison was built, the city agreed to sell water to the county, which resold it with a small markup to the prison. When the original contract expired, Salem announced it would bid directly for the contract.
But federal authorities gave the contract to the commissioners, who agreed to provide water to the prison through the Buckeye Water District.
The line from Salem to the prison is not being used. Officials agree the line belongs to Salem, but the county contends it has the rights to and tap-ins to the line or branches off it.
Al DeAngelis, Buckeye's manager, said he, too, would be willing to sit down with Salem officials.
Geoffrey Goll, the head of the city utilities commission, could not be reached to comment.
Commissioners said they hope Buckeye's water plant near Wellsville could link with Salem's plant. A waterline through the center of the county could aid business and residential growth. Salem's surface water collection system and Buckeye's use of Ohio River water would ensure a ready supply.