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FT sewer projects to launch in 2011
Sanitation Engineer Stephen Renner appeared before Franklin Township residents at the Dec. 23 business meeting, updating them on the sewer projects which will be launched in 2011. According to Renner, Franklin County will be putting about 10 million dollars or more into three major sanitation line projects. Renner chose to reach out to the community because of what he felt was a lot of misinformation being passed around by unknown sources. He added that in January, their county website will be updated and soon will be a place where residents can visit to learn of the latest developments with each project. “Our website is going to have project update and status information, for you to go to at anytime for you to understand what’s going on,” Renner said. “I keep hearing about a lot of misinformation, that’s why I really felt a strong need to actually come down here.” The three sewer projects which will be happening in 2011 are Brown Road East, Mon-E-Bak, and Eureka Park. Bidding for the Brown Road East project opened up on Nov. 1 and was awarded to Deer Creek Excavating on Dec. 14. The total construction cost, for both a general contract and electrical contract, will be $4.2 million. According to Renner, the project will begin between January and February and will be completed by the beginning of 2012. “I said this at the public meetings and I’ll say it again,” Renner said, “No homes will be allowed to collect until the project is completed.” Renner emphasized that even if an entire street is finished, nobody can connect to the new sanitation lines until the area is completed in entirety. He added there is a serious and technical reason to why this is, saying “By law, by Ohio State law, we have to wait 30 days for settling.” According to Renner, not only does it take 30 days for the construction ground to settle, but additional testing is required as well. The entire sewer system must be pressurized, and a mandrill is run through the system to ensure that no blockages within the lines exist. Starting near the same time as the Brown Road East project, the Mon-E-Bak sewer project is estimated to cost around $5 million – the contract will not be awarded until Jan. 11 – bidding opened on Nov. 19. Eureka Park, the final sanitary sewer project is slated to begin its planning stages in the summer. According to Renner, the Eureka Park project won a grant/loan from the Ohio Public Works Commission, but the funding will not be made available until July 2011. He expects they will have secured an engineering design by August 2011 and construction shall be implemented from mid 2012 through the end of 2012. For any residents who will eventually be connected to the new sewers, Renner reminded them that financial assistance is being offered through the CDGB program, which is ran by Franklin County Public Health. “They administered that program to help subsidize the cost to connect your homes to the new sewers,” Renner said. “That does not happen until half-way through the construction of [each] project.” Franklin County Public Health will reach out to residents and contact them with information on how to apply for the CDGB program. Therefore, the first area that should be contacted with this information will be those affected by the Brown Road East project by this coming summer – the half-way mark of that particular project. “You’ll receive a big packet,” Renner said, “…and you’ll know exactly when the first meeting is, and all the application and materials for that.” Additionally, it was stressed by Renner that all residents should apply for the CDGB program after receiving their packets, whether or not they believe they qualify. More information about the Department of Sanitary Engineering can be found at: http://www.franklincountyohio.
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