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Sewer extension project contract awarded

SALEM–The Salem Utilities Commission awarded the contract for a sewer extension project on North Cunningham Road to X-Press Underground of Petersburg for $77,469, an amount well below estimate.

Utilities Superintendent Don Weingart said the main reason the contract came in at that rate was because the contractor owns his own boring equipment, which reduced the cost. He advised the city hasn’t dealt directly with this contractor before, but Jon Vollnogle of Howells & Baird has on three different projects and said they did a good job.

Howells & Baird is the engineering firm for the project, which had been estimated to cost $101,500 to extend sewer from in front of the Holiday Inn Express west to North Cunningham Road, then north along North Cunningham Road crossing over the Home Depot driveway north for a total extension of 635 feet.Vollnogle found no problems with the low bid submitted.

Other bid amounts were: Woodford Excavating of Leavittsburg, $84,077; Utility Contracting of Youngstown, $91,654; Hippley Excavating of Salem, $105,578; and Rudzik Excavating, $110,103. The city is borrowing from the Utilities Department to cover the cost of the sewer line construction up front, then money from the developer of the business which requested the extension will be used to repay the loan.

Nick Toy, owner of Early Bird Learning Center, approached the city for support for an expansion and relocation of the preschool. The site already had water but needed sewer service. Besides serving the new location for the preschool, the sewer expansion will serve a handful of other empty lots which could lead to further development in the area.

The sewer extension project is expected to start in March, with the contract calling for completion in 90 days.

Plans call for the city to enact a Tax Increment Finance Zone for that area sometime this year. If approved by council, a portion of the money that Early Bird Learning Center will pay toward property taxes will be used to pay for the sewer line extension. City Auditor Betty Brothers, who attended the meeting, said they’ll work on setting up the TIF sometime this year.

In other business, the commission awarded bids for chemical supplies for the year, with some of the costs decreasing from last year and the costs for two of the five chemicals increasing. Also approved was an estimate of $35,280 for Go Steel Roofing of Salem to partially replace the roof on the utilities building on South Ellsworth Avenue.

The commission also heard an update on the high pressure main installed between the Highland Avenue water tank and East 10th Street. The line was to be pressure-tested Friday and is expected to be placed in full service by the end of this week. Customers shouldn’t notice any problems.

Final payment was being made on the wastewater treatment plant Phase 1A project in the amount of $118,300 to contractor A.P. O’Horo, which had bid $2.6 million for the contract. Commission Chairman Robert Hodgson said O’Horo did a really good job.

The next commission meeting will be 4 p.m. March 16.

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