Council tackles sewage plant problems at meeting

WELLSVILLE - The village council had a lengthy discussion of the state of equipment and buildings at the sewer plant during their meeting Tuesday evening.

According to village administrator Jim Saracco, emptying the first sludge tank should have been finished sometime Tuesday evening or early this morning.

Saracco stated that 137.89 tons of sludge had been removed by Tuesday afternoon.

The estimated cost of paying for the sludge removal has risen because of difficulties in clean-up.

Village mayor Joe Surace stated that extra water had to be added to eight feet of sludge in the bottom of the first tank in order to remove it, which required extra travel for the trucks as well as the cost to pump water in.

The estimated cost now stands between $15,000 and $25,000, Surace said.

Although sludge removal is under way, rusted equipment at the sewage plant remains a problem.

"It's unexcusable, what's going on down there," council member Tony Cataldo said.

Cataldo made a motion requesting that Saracco send a letter to United Water, formerly Earth Tech, asking them to help cover the rising cost of the sludge removal process because of the severity of the problem.

Cataldo also requested that the sewage committee, of which Cataldo is a member along with council members Don Brown and chairman of the committee Randy Allmon, get receipts from United Water detailing maintenance done on the sewage plant in the past five years.

Saracco clarified confusion over downspout letters that were recently sent to residents.

"All the letters mean is that if your downspout goes into the ground and you don't know if it's connected to the sewer system, pull it up and let the water run free," Saracco said.

Saracco previously stated that residents whose downspouts are already running to the drains in the road or over the ground do not need to take any action.

Saracco also brought up the higher price of road salt for winter and the need for repairs to the salt storage building's roof.

Saracco stated that he has spoken to three different contractors regarding roof repairs so far, but has not yet made a final decision on the situation.

Saracco also announced that several village residents have called with concerns about the lack of lighting at the playground on 18th Street.

"We're going to work on that and hopefully get some lights in here," Saracco said.

Surace agreed, stating that he has ordered the police department to stop when on patrol and walk around the playground to make sure that older children are not misusing the property.

Surace stated that the patrols will be necessary "even with the lighting."

Council discussed a street sweeper that has not been in working order "since the day they bought the thing," according to Saracco. The street sweeper was purchased approximately four years ago.

"It hasn't run for (even) eight hours," Saracco said.

Allmon suggested that the village try to get rid of the street sweeper.

"If we're not using that thing, and we're putting money in it, why don't we unload it?" Allmon asked.

No finalized decision was made on the situation.

Saracco stated that the road at the intersection at 17th and Main Streets has sunk far enough to cause an inconvenience as a result of trucks that drive through from the coal terminal and Marathon Oil.

Saracco stated that the road has been fixed before, but the repairs were not made to the engineer's specifications.

"We'll have to re-negotiate a contract (for repairs) because it's been too long," Saracco said.

In other business:

n Council passed a piece of legislation that accepts a three-part payment plan of $11,000 per payment from the Columbiana County Port Authority for use of village property.

The port authority made the first payment in August, and will pay the next two installments this month and in December.

n Council agreed that trick-or-treating hours for the village will take place 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, October 30.

n Surace announced that magistrate court drew $2,275 for the month of September.

n Council passed a motion made by Cataldo to apply for a Nature Works grant, which will go toward park funding.

n Council tabled a motion to approve the purchase of two new police cruisers because fiscal officer Dale Davis has not yet seen a price estimate.