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UTILITIES COMMITTEE MINUTES
APRIL 28, 2008
Municipal Council of the City of Vermilion
Municipal Complex, 685 Decatur Street, Vermilion, Ohio 44089
In Attendance: S. Holovacs, F. Ostrander, D. Roth, B. Brady, H. Strickler, M. Rossini, J. Gabriel, Gwen Fisher, Mayor Anderson, D. Squires, W. Hamilton, C. Howard.
Call to Order: H. Strickler, Chairperson, RESOLVED THAT this Utilities Committee consisting of B. Brady, Vice; and Member S. Holovacs does now come to order.
TOPIC ONE: Review of Ordinance 2008-27 (Culvert Replacement)
J. Gabriel reminded everyone that they are awaiting the assessment costs on the entire Elberta storm water project which will come out of the same fund, so prior to knowing these he would ask that they consider waiting until these assessments come back.
H. Strickler expressed her concerns due to phone calls she has received within the past two weeks from residents from Haley Street, Ohio Street, and South Street. She said if the city was just cleaning their catch basins, etc. the flooding would not occur. She said she would be willing to vote for more help if the city would first start cleaning out their responsibility. She didn’t know how the city could give away more manpower to do work on private homes when they’re not even keeping their own ditches clean. She would like to see a program instituted where they are cleaning the city’s ditches and catch basins.
B. Brady asked how they should define city ditches as opposed to individual responsibility ditches. She said all the city ditches on all the side streets are in the public right-of-way, so if they define them as being in a right-of-way then every ditch they have is the city’s responsibility. She asked why the ditch on South Street is the city’s responsibility. H. Strickler believed it was city property and it isn’t even on the street. B. Brady thought the Hollyview ditch wasn’t city property. S. Holovacs stated that the city has cleaned it out. H. Strickler said on Haley Street there are four to six homes that will flood once a year but every resident says that as soon as the city cleans out the catch basin then they don’t have a problem anymore. She asked how they can tell the residents to clean theirs if the city hasn’t even done their part.
F. Ostrander asked what the cost is on one of these driveways. D. Squires said it will take approximately 16 man hours and they are looking at about $638 for labor and approximately an additional $300 to $350 for the materials. F. Ostrander said he had no problem with this ordinance.
D. Squires said they need to look at Section 1026.01 (g) which states that the city will provide all required labor because he would like to get this ordinance passed. He said the success of this program is dependent on Ordinance 2008-35 of which he’ll address in the finance committee meeting.
S. Holovacs asked if 10 culverts were earmarked for this year. D. Squires said initially it was 10 this year.
TOPIC TWO: Review of Ordinance 2008-28 (Private Sewer Laterals)
D. Squires provided council with a sample copy of a letter that will go out to all the residents who are required to tap in to the East Liberty Avenue sanitary sewer extension.
He said that they have had much dialogue on the sanitary sewer lateral connections which will affect the residents of the first project because it is on the radar screen as the EPA mandated project to eliminate the Showse Park overflow. He felt the ordinance will be a work in progress but would like a starting point so they can move forward with how they are going to implement this plan. He stated that he received a response from Mr. Gabriel who felt that clean outs will only be required to be installed on properties whose laterals were found to be contributing storm water to the sanitary sewer system through testing or visual inspections. Properties already in compliance have the option to add a clean out, though not required. J. Gabriel said this was really his main concern.
S. Holovacs asked the city engineer if the proposed legislation enacting Chapter 1042.10 is the correct place to put this in the code. C. Howard said he would have to look into this.
B. Brady felt they need to simplify the ordinance because she felt it was too confusing to the residents to put their arms around. H. Strickler disagreed because she felt it needs to be spelled out very specific because people will find loop holes to get out of what they’re trying to do. J. Gabriel said he can see the confusion but it should be in the code as is except for the pipe issue. He thought when the city sends it to a homeowner they can address it in the nature of the flow chart and really simplify it because all they need to know up front is that they are in violation, the inspection, and initial procedure. He said they don’t need to send them this thick packet but just some basic steps.
S. Holovacs asked who would enforce this in other parts of the city such as Valley View. He asked if it would be enforced through the engineering department or would it be part of the building department. D. Squires said that Underground Utilities will give the city guidance through this, but this is a city-wide ordinance so it will either be the street department if they determine an illegal connection, or the collection department (Water Plant Superintendent). He said they may call in Mr. Howard for his opinion.
D. Squires stated that their recommendation is to have the city install the clean out because they are setting the demarcation of where the city is responsible from. H. Strickler said she likes the idea of owning it because it gives the city more control. C. Howard said it does make a nice dividing point when they say the clean out is owned by the city.
H. Strickler asked when council needs to pass this legislation. D. Squires said by May 15 in order to get a good start on the elimination of the VOL overflow. G. Fisher said the ordinance has to be put in final form. J. Gabriel said they need to determine ownership. B. Brady said she is a strong believer in the resident pays for things the first time and the city maintains it afterwards. She said if somebody doesn’t have a clean out then they should pay for it the first time around. J. Gabriel said it should be with the stipulation that they will only go into existing buildings where required.
It was the committee’s decision that the homeowner will initially put in the clean out and is responsible and will pay for it if a problem is found.
The following will be incorporated into the ordinance as follows:
Clean outs will only be required to be installed on properties whose laterals were found to be contributing storm water to the sanitary sewer system through testing or visual inspections. “Properties already in compliance have the option to add a clean out, though not required.” The initial cost of the clean out installation will be at the homeowner’s expense.
Under enforcement procedures the committee suggested changing the non-compliance time to 60 days or their water service is terminated and 90 days to comply or the sanitary sewer service shall be terminated.
D. Squires said under section 3.5.4 they will confirm with the engineer because they would like to set these clean outs at the right-of-way. He said there may be some surveying required to establish the exact right-of-way. He feels it needs to be a definite location. S. Holovacs said this should be at the discretion of the administration.
The administration was directed to put the proposed legislation into final form.
TOPIC THREE: Water Leak Detection Survey
D. Squires said there were approximately 20 leaks throughout the city. There were leaks found on the main line, on the service lines, on hydrants, and also on customer sides. He said that Mr. Rigby feels that fixing the majority, if not all of these, will save approximately 179,280 gallons per day based on findings they have performed in other cities. He said based on these estimates it is approximately $65,437,000 gallons per year. Based on the 2000 production levels which is where they have estimated a 37 percent water loss, it can be potentially be reduced by approximately 13 percent of their water production in 2006, which was approximately 541 million gallons. He said that approximately 15 to 17 percent is acceptable and this water usage is usually in hydrant flushing and fire protection, and city services. He said they will too have some small leakers that they just won’t be able to find. He said this leaves the city with approximately 9 to 10 percent of water that is unaccounted for. They are looking at a couple of methods for metering entire neighborhoods to compare it to the actual billed gallons for the number of residents in those developments. They are looking in other areas to try to isolate this down further.
M. Rossini asked D. Squires if he had a cost on what it would take to fix this. D. Squires said Mr. Baker is putting together a work schedule and they will talk to their distribution crew as well.
F. Ostrander if the replacement of the downtown water line increased the pressure in general. C. Howard said it should but they haven’t run any hydrant tests. He said the distribution study is almost done. F. Ostrander asked what percent they are estimating that will still be lost. D. Squires said approximately 24 percent and they are working on methods to recoup the last nine to ten percent.
H. Strickler said that on Sandusky Street something is leaking and she has had several calls on this. D. Squires said that Columbia Gas had worked over there last year on a resident’s gas line problem and hit their water line. They did repair it; however, they believe it has ruptured again so Columbia Gas will come out again on this.
D. Squires said the largest leak was on Parkland and Berkeley which was a little over 50 gallons per minute. This has been repaired immediately and they noticed the pressure increased on the east side of town simply because they were able to fill the tower quicker and were able to hold a higher level in the tower.
M. Rossini said that Ohio has a low interest loan program for repairing existing water systems and wondered who in the city could look into this. D. Squires said he would look at Gene Baker Water Plant Superintendent to look into this.
Adjournment: No further business was presented and Chairperson H. Strickler adjourned the meeting.
Gwen Fisher, Certified Municipal Clerk
Note: Unofficial meeting minutes. Changes may be pending. Minutes are verbatim.
5/2/08
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