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Meeting set for proposed water line extension

CALCUTTA — Residents in the Old Fredericktown Road area of St. Clair Township will have an opportunity next week to ask questions and/or sign up for service with the Buckeye Water District following years of concern with their well water.

During Tuesday’s St. Clair Township trustees meeting, Trustee James Sabatini announced the BWD will conduct a town hall meeting 6:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Peter Metrovich Community Center within the St. Clair Township Administration Building.

The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the proposed water line extension to Old Fredericktown Road’s residents and subdivisions — from Ruby Drive to the top of Fredericktown Hill — as well as for BWD officials to address questions and concerns.

“Ruby Drive has water service through (BWD), so this will be an extention of that water line along the rest of the route,” Sabatini explained.

The contract prepared by legal counsel is expected to be signed during the meeting. It commits the property owner to accept the tap-in and asks for a commitment for use of the water service.

“We’ve done a lot of research on this,” Sabatini said. “This is not unusual for a water district to look for commitment letters, especially since they’re going to be borrowing some money to make the project happen along with the tap-in fees.”

Sabatini addressed BWD trustees on Thursday, mentioning the meeting and explaining the committees that have been formed to get the process rolling.

Residents in the neighborhood, he said, also have a petition with more than 30 signatures expresses an interest in the project.

Sabatini told the BWD that flyers and other letters have been distributed throughout the neighborhood advising residents of the event, and stated more flyers will be delivered the next couple days. He also mentioned that, although a week away, some residents have already expressed their commitment to the service.

“Hopefully we get a good turnout that night, if you guys gets some sign-ups that night,” Sabatini said. “I have some people that want to sign up without even coming to the meeting.”

BWD board president Mike Ryan said the district will be looking forward to set up the service, and clarified that while the district will be breaking even by handling the water line extension, they recognize the need for the water out there.

“We’re not doing this to make money,” Ryan said. “We know its because you need the service.”

Ryan also stated that the engineering for the project has been completed.

The idea to bring Buckeye Water’s service to the Old Fredericktown Road area has been around for quite a few years now, as many residents there have expressed concerns with the quality of their well water.

As discussed in several meetings between trustees and the BWD, residents have had several concerns, ranging from the limited amount of water to the poor quality of it. Rusty water has been mentioned, as well as poor water pressure.

While residents have expressed interest in tapping in, BWD also has expressed strong interest in extending the service, but limited funding has prevented any movement on such a project.

Sabatini has worked with the committees and served as the township’s official on the project.

“We are in the home stretch of this thing, and if we can get enough people signed up to actually commit to the water line, they will run it, that is what they’ve said,” Sabatini said. “This is something that’s probably been 20 years in the making. It was brought up heavily 10 years ago, but now it’s really come into reality.”

Sabatini urged residents in that vicinity to attend the meeting.

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