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Campbell officially sells water plant to Aqua Ohio for $7.5 million
Company also absorbs 8 full-time employees
CAMPBELL
The city has reached an agreement with Aqua Ohio to sell its water system to the company for $7.5 million.
In addition to paying for the plant and the millions of dollars the facility will need in order to achieve compliance under Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the company is also absorbing the city’s eight full-time water department employees.
Aqua Ohio will take over operations in January. After that, Campbell residents can expect to receive a monthly bill for their water from Aqua Ohio and a monthly bill from the city for their storm sewer, trash and sanitary use.
City officials deliberated over whether to sell the plant for more than a year. The process included several town hall meetings where the city’s water superintendent, Joe Tovarnak, as well as representatives from Aqua Ohio discussed the consequences of their options.
Aqua Ohio customers in Campbell will pay $10.45 per 1,000 gallons – an increase from Campbell’s current rate of $6.50 per thousand gallons – and a fixed rate of $15.86, a decrease from Campbell’s fixed rate of $21.75.
The volumetric rates Campbell customers will pay are $1.43 more than Struthers customers pay, but it will be locked in for five years. Aqua representatives anticipate the rates for Struthers and Campbell customers will level out after the first five years.
Mayor Nick Phillips made it clear throughout the process he did not want to sell the plant, but said he agreed to do so for the city’s betterment.
“It was a process that needed to happen based on the regulations from the EPA we were up against,” Phillips said. “The most important thing to us is being transparent with our residents and getting assurance that our employees would be guaranteed jobs with Aqua.”
Had the city maintained control of the plant, the cost of the repairs needed to bring the facility into EPA compliance – estimated by CT Consultants to exceed $14 million – would be passed along to the city’s approximately 3,000 water customers.
The city has seen a population decline on course with the rest of the region, and a growing number of residents making up its tax base are on fixed incomes or are retirees.
Phillips said the money from the sale would go toward capital improvement and city beautification projects.
“We’re going to use the money to move the city forward,” he said. “Hopefully, it’ll help us draw in new business.”