County Drain Issue Flushed

Livingston County will continue to pay a fee to Chillicothe Municipal Utilities in lieu of installing drains to separate storm water from sanity sewer lines at the courthouse. After hours of discussion which have spanned several weeks and tours of the courthouse, City Council members took no action on a proposal to repeal a 2003 ordinance which allowed the county to pay for costs associated with the treatment of storm water at the city’s waste water treatment plant, instead of installing a separate drainage system at the courthouse.

County commissioners had argued that creating a separate drainage system could jeopardize the stability of the structure and/or its architectural appearance. The courthouse, built in 1914, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. CMU General Manager Steve Svec said the courthouse is the only known structure in town without a plan in place for handling storm water separate from sanitary sewer lines.

When this issue was last discussed at a council meeting, the council had asked the county commission to solicit cost estimates for installing drains. Since that time, three local contractors — Case Contracting, David Copeland Construction and Irvinbilt — had each inspected the courthouse. They were present at Monday’s council meeting and, when asked, none of them would recommend that the county install such a system.

East District Commissioner Ken Lauhoff presented the council with letters from an architect, the Department of Natural Resources and an engineering firm relating the separation of sanitary and storm drainage piping, all of them recommending that alterations of the existing system not be made. Svec told the council that members of the board of public works also toured the court6house; however, they did not make any recommendations.

With the 2003 ordinance still in effect, the county will continue to pay a fee for water treatment based on the amount of runoff of each building to the wastewater drain, and charging the standard fees for such treatment, based on an average rainfall of 36 inches per year. Lauhoff questioned whether the issue would arise again in a few years, but was told that ordinances can be reviewed by future councils at any time.

Contractor, CMU to Pay for Line Break Costs on Third Street

Discussion regarding the city’s permanent street project on east Third Street began during the Chillicothe City Council’s workshop meeting and continued for more than an hour into the regular council meeting Monday evening. Larry Gatson, representing M&M Utilities, which is the contractor for the street reconstruction, brought the matter to the council’s attention, asking for full reimbursement of nearly $5,000 for direct costs incurred as a result of water line breaks.

Work on the $600,000 project was progressing as planned until a couple weeks ago when the water line below the street kept breaking. Within a few days, the contractor experienced five breaks. Gatson sought full reimbursement for loss of time delays and additional work he performed because of the breaks. “We have wasted a lot of money fixing the street,” he told council members.

The water line is estimated to be around 80 years old and failed to withstand the use of heavy, specialized equipment that had been required through bid specifications. “The line cannot take what is needed for replacing the street,” Gatson said. Steve Svec, general manager of city-owned Chillicothe Municipal Utilities, said that CMU should not be liable for the additional costs, stating that the contractor had bid the job and should have been aware of what complications could arise.

After hearing from both the contractor and Svec, the city agreed on a split vote for CMU to pay $2,625 and the contractor to absorb $2,250. Those approving the arrangement were Councilman Darrel Rinehart Jr., Maurice Zion and Paul Howard. Councilmen Tom Douglas and Sid Cornell voted against the proposal, with Douglas stating that CMU should absorb all the costs.

Monday's discussion regarding the Third Street project prompted plans to enact an ordinance relating to city board agendas. Council members directed City Attorney Adam Warren to draft an ordinance that would require all city boards to have agendas for their meetings, would require them to follow their agendas and would require them to allow time for members of the public to comment on agenda items.

Gatson said he had attended a recent Board of Public Works meeting to discuss the problems he had encountered while working on the street, but was not allowed to voice his concerns at that meeting. Svec said that the board's agenda was already full and that the board didn't have time to address all items on the agenda, including water department issues.

Mayor Chuck Haney presided over Monday night's meeting with the full council present. Also Monday, the council:

• Approved the payment of invoices, $911,507, and payroll, $134,710.55;
• Approved the appointment of Frank Pagliai to the city's Board of Adjustments, replacing Cheri Williams, who was unable to serve longer due to term limits;
• Approved the street closing request for the Chillicothe Lions Club Annual Car Show in Friday, July 17;
• Was introduced to Marvin Peterson as a new street employee;
• Accepted a contract with James Suchsland, D.O., to provide physical examinations of prospective and current city employees as well as drug tests for current employees.