Commissioners OK $400K grant for Amherst water, sewer project

The Lorain County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Friday to grant the city of Amherst $400,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to aid in repairs to aging sewer, water and road infrastructure in a residential neighborhood. The funds will help the city repair or replace sewer pipes, water mains and roadway in the Sharondale Allotment between Cooper Foster Park Road and state Route 2 in Amherst. Amherst Mayor Mark Costilow told commissioners that the total project cost is more than $1.7 million, with at least $1.3 million of that going into improving water and sewer infrastructure. The city will spend more than $633,000 of its own ARPA money, in addition to the county's $400,000 share and additional funding from Amherst's existing street improvement levy, he said. Amherst will cover all the engineering costs, Costilow said, and the project will benefit more than 100 homes in the area. "This will help a lot of people, it will help our sanitary system and puts the ARPA dollars really to good use," he said. More than 1 mile of sewer pipe will be replaced, rehabilitated or realigned. Another 2,000 linear feet of water mains will be replaced along with 35 water taps containing potentially dangerous lead, Costilow said. Amherst also will resurface more than 4,400 feet of roadway, he said. Columbia Gas recently started repairing some of its lines in the same area, and Costilow said the city and the utility are working together and aligning their work schedules to make sure that Columbia Gas doesn't have to remove or redo any of the city's planned work. The city previously found a number of sewer and water lines in the area were 70 years old or older, deteriorating and breaking down. Stormwater was getting into the sanitary sewer lines and manholes, causing "quite a few of the failures," Costilow said. Commissioner Jeff Riddell called the city's plan "responsible government." He said sewers are "not a sexy topic," but the combination of ARPA money from the city and county, plus levy or assessment dollars, can bridge the funding gap. Commissioners also voted to create two tax increment financing districts within Amherst Township, in cooperation with township trustees and the Amherst school district. A TIF exempts the value of private property improvements from property taxes to help fund public infrastructure improvements. Plans are for at least 660 new residences to go in as part of the Sandstone development on 264 acres bordered by the Ohio Turnpike, Route 58, Route 113 and Oberlin Road. The county previously installed sewer in the area to serve future development. Reese Dunton, an economic development coordinator with the Lorain County Community Development Department, said the time was right to create the TIFs. Property owners in the district will make payments in lieu of taxes to the county for infrastructure improvements — primarily, for a connector road linking Oberlin Road to Route 58, Dunton said. He said the area will be open for further commercial and residential development, bringing construction jobs and tax receipts. Commissioners also entered into two different compensation agreements with the Amherst schools and the township, so that "everyone gets 80 percent of what they want and the world gets 100 percent of what it needs," Riddell said.In other business, commissioners: • Hired the law firm Dooley Gembala McLaughlin Pecora Tucker of Sheffield to defend them in a breach of contract lawsuit brought by Cleveland Communications Inc. last month. The Parma-based company has alleged the county breached its contract when Riddell and Commissioner David Moore rescinded an agreement to provide county first responders with a new radio system less than a month after it was approved and signed by Commissioners Matt Lundy and Michelle Hung. Over Hung's objection, Moore and Riddell voted to rescind the 19-day-old agreement on Jan. 9, saying they had concerns about how CCI won the bid. The county Fire Chiefs Association, Deputies Association, Elyria and Lorain mayors, city officials and Sheriff Phil Stammitti have all since criticized the commissioners for their decision. • Entered into an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation Office of Aviation for a $239,878 grant to rehabilitate runway 7/25, reconstruct airfield lighting, guidance systems, a rotating beacon and lighting work at the Lorain County Regional Airport in New Russia Township. • Announced they will advertise for bids for a nearly $847,000 project to resurface, widen and put in turn lanes on Boone Road at the intersection of Heatherstone Trail and Audreys Way in Columbia Township. Notice will be in The Chronicle-Telegram on Thursday and March 9, and bids will be opened at 2 p.m. March 30. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.