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Canfield council increases water rates
CANFIELD
A city resident who pledged to privately fund a dog park at Greasel Park said he felt passed over by park board officials who rejected the proposal Wednesday.
But city leaders said during a later meeting they’re expecting more detailed plans before giving the go-ahead.
Gary Primavera of Colonial Drive said park board officials told him they planned to reject the proposal due to disagreements on who would pay to drain the perpetually waterlogged park and install a waterline for a drinking fountain.
“This is a diamond on a golden platter handed to you. Why nobody would jump on this is beyond me,” he said Wednesday.
Primavera estimated the project could cost him between $30,000 and $40,000, including 850 feet of donated vinyl siding estimated at about $12,000 and a planned pavilion at about $11,000. Primavera said he also plans to donate landscaping work, signage, dog-waste bag dispensers and picnic tables for the pavilion. He said he expected to have work completed in the spring.
Original estimates to dry out the plot were about $3,000, Primavera said. But City Manager Wade Calhoun said the city can’t properly estimate those costs until Primavera provides a detailed site plan.
Primavera provided a site concept when the dog park was originally slated for Fair Park. After several neighboring residents publicly rejected the proposal and 43 residents signed a petition against it, plans moved to Greasel Park. Primavera has not yet submitted plans for a Greasel Park build.
“I haven’t seen where, exactly, in Greasel Park the proposed area we’re discussing is,” Calhoun said. “There’s a little more behind-the-scenes considerations that need to be done. We weren’t comfortable earmarking a budget number.”
Council members John Morvay and Christine Lucarell Oliver said they were unaware the dog park was “a dead issue” and pledged to work with Primavera. Councilman Bruce Neff suggested hosting a public hearing to seek input from Greasel Park neighbors.
WATER RATES RISE
In other business, council approved an approximate 7 percent water-rate increase for city residents, effective for all water billed after Jan. 2, as part of the city’s 20-year water purchasing contract with the city of Youngstown.
Metered rates for city water customers are now $10.32 per 1,000 gallons, up from the $9.58 established at the start of 2018. Rates for more than 100,000 gallons of usage in a quarter are now $8.33 per 1,000 gallons, up from $7.73. The minimum quarterly charge for multiple family dwellings with central heating or plumbing systems is now $51.60, up from $47.90.
Council also approved an ordinance allowing the city to investigate cross-connections between potable and non-potable water supplies, and eliminate contaminants that could backflow into the city’s water distribution system. The majority of the regulations affect commercial properties, rather than residential, officials said.
FInally, council approved one city policeman to essentially leave the department and rejoin the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency task force on a full-time basis for three years.
City Police Chief Chuck Colucci said Wednesday the department has participated in the task force before, which allows the department to take 20 percent of assets forfeited through drug investigations and seizures. That money has, in the past, funded cruisers for the department but those forfeiture funds are now “dwindling,” he said.
With the city officer’s commitment, the agency will reimburse the city $21,000 for the purchase of a new $39,000 cruiser, which was also approved Wednesday.
The agreement allows the officer to return to the city police department at any time, after a 90-day “escape” period. He will not be replaced with a new officer, Colucci said.