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City officials hope replacement of 24-inch water line begins next week
By ROBERT CONNELLY
CANFIELD
City officials hope to start work replacing a 24-inch waterline next week after a construction meeting.
City council unanimously approved a resolution ensuring that it will pay back the Ohio Public Works Commission on the loan for the work to be done. That is the replacement of about 2,600 feet of the waterline that runs parallel to state Route 11.
At a February council meeting, city officials approved Michael Benza and Associates of Brecksville as the project engineer — at a cost not to exceed $57,373 — and Kirila Contractors Inc. of Brookfield as the contractor at a cost not to exceed $478,220.
The OPWC loan is for 30 years and is interest-free. City Manager Joe Warino has said the city will receive about $47,000 in funding through the Appalachian Regional Commission from previous work done on the line that was stopped.
Warino said the waterline will be down for about 90 days, and the city will use a 12-inch line to bring water to city residents during that time. That same 12-inch line used to serve the city before the installation of the 24-inch water line.
Though the work will take about 90 days to finish, Warino said he is hopeful the 24-inch line can be back in use within 45 to 60 days.
Resident Frank Micchia questioned if the 12-inch line could hold up to the demand of city residents, but Warino said, “I have all the confidence in the world” in that line.
City officials are having a pre-construction meeting Monday and “hopefully [work will] start right after that,” Warino said.
Todd Beeson, the city’s public works foreman, said road crews will now have a vehicle in front of and behind workers patching potholes. He said a worker had his “shovel struck by a vehicle on North Broad Street. The second vehicle will follow behind as a safety buffer.”