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Liberty and Girard look at possible water deal with Trumbull County
GIRARD
Liberty Township Trustee Jodi Stoyak said that after years of wanting to lower water prices for residents on the northern end of the township, a plan from Trumbull County may be “the light at the end of the tunnel.”
“I’ve been trying to figure out a way to help my residents and their cost of water for years,” she said.
The Trumbull County Sanitary Engineer’s office sent a letter to Girard Mayor James Melfi on Oct. 12, proposing a feasibility study to determine if the county could buy the portion of Girard’s water system that provides water for 1,456 users in Liberty.
“Certainly we are always willing to listen to proposals,” Melfi said.
Gary Newbrough, deputy Trumbull County sanitary engineer, first proposed the idea in June after a meeting between Girard and Liberty.
If the county purchased a portion of Girard’s water system, it would make a lump sum payment to Girard to compensate for its investment in the infrastructure.
But the county must gain support from the city before doing a study to find out if the plan could save some Liberty customers money, Newbrough explained.
“In order to come up with some figures and make an educated offer to the city for that system, we would need preliminary engineering studies done. The main goal of the study would be to give us the fair market value of the system,” Newbrough said.
Melfi said the city also will hire an expert to determine the fair market value of its water system.
“We are certainly not going to be short-sighted and sell the system if the offer is not at a fair market value,” he said.
Residents in the northern portion of Liberty Township purchase water from Girard’s system at the rate of $17.35 per thousand gallons. In comparison, other residents that live near Youngstown and are serviced by the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District pay about $7.89 per thousand gallons.
The difference in rates is because of the surcharges. Each water supplier requires a 40 percent surcharge from its customers for the service and infrastructure it provides.
When the MVSD was formed in 1926, Youngstown and Niles residents became charter members. Girard got free water from Liberty wells at the time.
Girard began buying Youngstown and Niles water years later after the wells were deemed to not meet federal standards, and Liberty began buying from Girard at a surcharge.
When the contract was signed between Girard and Liberty in 1958, Girard made the investment to extend water lines and provide water to northern Liberty residents.
Because Girard didn’t become a charter member of MVSD all those years ago, it can’t get water straight from MVSD, so it has to pay surcharges from Youngstown and Niles.
“Even if MVSD were to reduce its water rates, it wouldn’t lead to big savings for Liberty Township, unless they reduced it drastically,” said Newbrough.
Melfi pointed out that the city uses its own funds to improve the water service to Liberty, such as a new water line installed in East Drive over the summer to improve water pressure.
“Liberty seems to be upset with the pricing, but the customers we have in Weathersfield [Township] haven’t complained, and we treat them the same,” Melfi said.
“We maintain the lines, we service the lines, we have made upgrades that cost money from the Girard water fund,” the mayor said. “In recent years, it seems that no matter what we do for Liberty Township, their leaders seem to have a problem with the pricing, the service, the maintenance.”
For Trustee Stoyak, there is a sense of urgency in finalizing a plan because the contract with Girard expires in 2020, and because Shepherd of the Valley is constructing its assisted-living and senior-care facility on Tibbetts Wick, and will be a large water consumer. She said businesses such as Giant Eagle on Belmont Avenue will benefit from lower water prices, too.
But Melfi said the prices can’t be lowered, as it’s his responsibility to ensure there is a healthy water fund to pay the seven city water department employees and provide water service.
“We are pricing our water as cheaply as possible to our citizens, and in turn, to Weathersfield and Liberty citizens,” he said.
The decision will be discussed with Girard council. “If this is a strategy to lower our prices, it’s not going to work. If it’s a strategy for us to relinquish our water service to them without proper compensation, it won’t work,” Melfi said.