Hubbard council discussed the city’s wastewater facility

Staff report

HUBBARD

City council has approved a contract with A.P. O’Horo Co. for Phase 2 of the city’s wastewater treatment plant upgrade project at the cost of $1,268,000.

Mayor John Darko said a new building will replace the facility’s old building, and a more efficient system will replace the former system that has been used since the early 1990s. The facility’s grit removal system will be upgraded.

The improvements come at no extra cost to taxpayers. Darko said $170,000 from the wastewater fund will partially fund the project, and the rest will come from city bonds. City officials are waiting to schedule a pre-construction meeting.

City council also approved adjusting the compensation of the wastewater superintendent to the rate of $62,500 annually, effective Jan. 1, 2019.

The superintendent’s original salary was $60,000. Darko said the responsibility and job duties of the superintendent calls for a higher compensation.

In other business, Darko announced he will not run for re-election in 2019 because he is retiring.

The mayor, who took his position in 2012, said, “It’s a decision between my wife and I. It’s time to close this chapter of the book and go on to a new one.”

At the next meeting Dec. 17, city council plans to pass a resolution supporting the Drive it Home campaign, which supports workers of the General Motors facility in Lordstown and the elected officials who are attempting to save the plant from permanently closing.

The city’s Santa Claus is Coming to Town Christmas parade will start at 5 p.m. Saturday, beginning at the Hubbard schools and ending at Tylee Park, where Santa will be waiting with free hot cocoa and cookies.