Administrator's Report 

The electrical department continues to conduct testing of all three phase electric meters throughout the village. This work will continue until the 13th of June. So far, the meter tester has found just a couple of meters that had issues. Baumer Construction has finished the pump house at Four Seasons Park. Now that the building is complete, the electrical department will begin to transfer the switchgear and well controls over to the new building. Once that work is completed, we can raze the old building. Bids for the Columbia Drive Water and Sewer Extension Project are set to open on Wednesday, June 11th at 10:00 am. Bid documents for the project are available at Choice One Engineering. Once the bids are opened, they will be reviewed and a recommendation will be made to the village council at an upcoming meeting. Gehret Nursery has mulched out in the right-of-way of State Route 66 in front of Parkview Acres.The Parks Department has mulched the trees along Fourth Street and will begin mulching at Four Seasons Park. The Parks Department is also going to starting putting stone down in place of mulch at the Water Plant. Once this is complete, we can decide if this is what we want at the other buildings.

Baumer Construction has installed the roof on the new well house building at Four Seasons Park. Once they are completely finish, the electrical department will move the switch gear and generator into the new building. Once that is completed, we can raze the old well house building and finish the concrete walk path. The electrical department has begun testing three phase electric meters throughout the village. The electric department brings in an independent meter tester each year to test all three phase meters for accuracy. This helps ensure that the meters are reading correctly. Testing began Monday the 12th and will last about two weeks, as the village has about 150 three phase meters to test. The State Route 66 Cross Walk is complete and is functioning correctly. Crews from DL Smith installed the pavement markings and the bollards to wrap up the project. Chief Morris is working with the school to present an assembly where he can talk about the proper use of the cross walk. Parks Crews are preparing the pool for this summer’s use. Crews have been cleaning both the pool house and pool in preparation for the opening of the pool on Memorial Day. Season tickets will go on sale at the pool on Monday, May 19th. The pool will officially open on Memorial Day weekend. The public works department has begun cutting in a drive off of Minster-Egypt Road at the Luedeke Farm. This drive will be for the police department to access the shooting range that will be built near the solar panels. Once the fence is moved, we will begin building the mound for the shooting range.

Temporary cups and MORA stickers have been distributed to the seven establishments in the MORA area. In addition, the announcement that the MORA will officially kick off on Saturday, May 3rd was posted on social media. Masons have begun to lay the block for the new well house at Four Seasons Park. Once they are finished, they will begin putting on the roof and we can then start transferring the equipment from the old building to the new building. Last Thursday, David Williams and Associates set the tanks for the new splash pad at Paris Street Park. They are to begin installing piping for the splash pad this week. Once the piping is installed, they will pour the remainder of the floor for the shelter house. National Water Service should be in this week, to re-set high service pump number two at the Water Treatment Plant. At the same time, they will pull high service pump number three so that this pump can be rebuilt. Once well number three is finished, all three of the high service pumps at the water treatment facility will have been serviced and rebuilt. The open position for Fiscal Officer has been posted both internally and externally. The job posting was placed in Hometown Opportunity, Ohio Means Jobs, Linked-In, Monster.com, and on the Ohio Municipal League and AMP’s website along with the village’s website and social media feeds. May 1st was the due date for residents to let the village know if they are doing the repairs to their sidewalks themselves or if they elect the village to do so. We are in the process of putting together a list of all those who are doing the sidewalk’s themselves. They have until July 11th to repair the sidewalks, if they are not done by that time, the village will hire a contractor to do the work.

Additional trash cans have been ordered and delivered. These additional trash cans will be placed in the outdoor refreshment area. In addition, plastic cups with the MORA Logo and a QR Code featuring a map of the MORA have been ordered. The electric department is working on installing new street lights on North Cleveland Street. The old street light poles were rusted beyond repair, so new LED lights have been ordered and will be installed. The block for the new well house at Four Seasons Park should arrive this week. Once the block arrive, masons will begin erecting the building. Public Works crews continue to go out and check for lead lines on the village’s side of the curb stop. We have about 40 more places to vac and check throughout the community. In addition, we have about 60 homes who have not responded after being contacted by the department. We will continue to reach out to these residents to inspect their side of the lines. Work on the Paris Street Shelter House continues to move forward. Heyne’s and their subcontractors have completed the masonry insulation, installed soffits, gutters and the plumbing vent. Over the next two weeks equipment for the splash pad will start to arrive and Heyne’s can finish the excavation and concrete work. Two weeks ago, Choice One, Scott Langenkamp and myself walked three upcoming projects to discuss design questions. Those three projects were North Hamilton Street, State Route 66 Sidewalks, and the sewer and water line extension to Columbia Drive. Choice One is finishing up the designs on all three projects and should be ready to seek bids shortly. The new dock for the pond at the Four-Seasons Park has been ordered and should be installed by the end of May. There was damage to part of one of the play structures out at the Four Seasons Park. A plexiglass window was broken on the toy closest to the main parking lot. Parks crews have made temporary repairs until a new piece can be ordered and installed.

Last week, the employees of the water department participated in a recertification test in the lab at the water treatment plant. This test ensures that all employees are able to run tests on water samples at the plant. All four employees passed the test. D.L. Smith has begun work on the State Route 66 Crosswalk. Last week they cut the pavement for the island where the crosswalk is to be placed. Additional work on the crosswalk should start this week. The installation of the sprinkler system in the Oktoberfest Park has been completed. Flow Masters Irrigation finished the installation a week ago. Chief Morris has announced that the open house to showcase the new police department, will be held on Saturday, April 5th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 1:30 pm. The Public is invited to attend. Last week, the electric department shut down the Danone substation to do maintenance on the substation. This maintenance is done once every three years. Utilities Instrumentation Service conducts the maintenance on the substation to make sure everything is functioning correctly. The electric department’s digger derrick needs to have repairs made to a hydraulic cylinder in the extension arm. The truck will go to Circleville to be repaired and will be down for several weeks. While the truck is being serviced, the electric department has found another digger derrick that we can rent while the village’s truck is being repaired.

The Village hosted a meeting on the 17th with the seven establishments that will be a part of the MORA. We went over the rules and regulations regarding the MORA, discussed the purchase of the designated cups and answered any questions that the group had. Crews from Heyne Construction continue to work on the Paris Street Shelter House Project. Heyne’s have cleaned the masonry, installed trusses and roofing materials and continued to work on the plumbing and electric rough-ins. The splash pad contractor has ordered the debris trap and reservoir and that is expected to be delivered the week of April 7th with work on the splash pad starting the week of the 14th. Work on the new well field generator building at the Four Seasons Park is underway. Village crews have pulled in the wire and they are ready to pour the floor of the building. The Parks Department have installed the wind screens at the Pickleball Courts and are working on the windscreens around the diamonds. Village crews have found lights out that need replaced on the diamonds and the electric department will rent a lift to replace them. Ryan ad Adam continue to prepare the fields for play as girls high school softball has already started practicing On Thursday, March 6th we opened bids for the new transformer at the southeast substation. We received a total of six bids during the bid opening. The bids were given to Encompass Engineering for their review and recommendation which we hope to have to council at an upcoming meeting. On Monday, March 3rd, ODOT hosted a pre-construction meeting for the State Route 66 Crosswalk project. Both Scott Langenkamp and I attended the meeting. It looks like the contractor will start the project sometime in mid-April once the asphalt plants open for the year. The Contractor has forty- five days to complete the project. The Public Work’s Department has moved the signage at Seventh and Paris Street a little further east to let motorist know the speed limit and that there is a curve ahead. We have been in talks with AES about moving a pole in the area. According to AES, in order to move the one pole at the curve, they would need to install four poles in various places at the intersection. We also inquired with AES about our electric department taking over the customers who live on Corporation Line Road. If we were to do that, the pole could be eliminated. The Public Works Department has been out repairing about eight hydrants that were identified as needing repairs the last time the village conducted hydrant flushing. Crews will also be going throughout the village over the next couple of weeks and trimming back brush that encroaches into the alley rights-of-way. All of the electric trucks were recently dielectrically tested. All trucks passed the test; however, it was identified that the digger truck had a hydraulic leak in the extension arm cylinder. In order to repair the leak, the fiberglass would need to be removed from the boom and the cylinder repaired. This work would need to be done at Utility Equipment facility in Circleville. The installation of the sprinkler system is underway in the Oktoberfest Par. Village crews recently installed a vault to house the backflow preventor and the water meter. Flow Masters Irrigation has begun to install the lines and the sprinkler heads in the park. With the warner weather the village electric department will begin removing the lights in the trees along Fourth Street before the trees start to bud. The VFW has installed a flag retirement box in front of the village offices near the front door. Residents who have a old flag that needs to be disposed of can drop off the flag in the box and the VFW will properly dispose of it.

Public works crews have installed the MORA signs throughout the downtown area for the designated outdoor refreshment area. Letter will go out to the seven liquor establishments this week inviting them to a meeting to discuss the operation of the MORA and to decide on the purchase of the cups that will be used. In addition, we are working on obtaining a quote on some additional trash cans that can be placed in the downtown area for collection of waste cups. Crews from Heyne Construction continue to work on the Paris Street Shelter House Project. Even with the cold weather, they continue to lay block for the shelter house facility and have started setting wood trusses for the roof. Another construction meeting is set for this Thursday at 1:30 pm. Work on the new well field generator building at the Four Seasons Park is underway. This building was damaged by the tornado a couple of years ago. Woehrmyer Concrete has poured the footers and village crews are getting ready to pull in wire to the building. Baumer Construction will start laying block for the building shortly. The dilution wells are now up and running and can be operated using the village’s water and waste water SCADA system. We are working with CDM Smith to determine how best to utilize the wells to reduce the volume of TDS that is in the village’s waste water effluent. NWS has been in the village to pull the high service pumps at the water treatment plant for rebuilding. These pumps which are the original pumps that were installed when the plant was built need to be serviced. High Service Pump 1 has been pulled, reworked and put back in place. Pump number 2 has been pulled and is currently being worked on. When Pump 2 was pulled it was found that part of the intake piping to the pump was bad and needs to be replaced. NWS is in the process of acquiring the needed piping for the pump. Once Pump 2 is reinstalled, they will move on to pump 3. On Monday, March 3rd, ODOT will host a pre-construction meeting for the State Route 66 Crosswalk project. Both Scott Langenkamp and I will attend the meeting. While construction is ongoing on the YMCA’s new addition, they will be once again utilizing Four Seasons Park to host some of the YMCA’s outdoor spring activities. If you remember they utilized these areas in the fall for their fall programs The Public Works Department will be making the water tap for the new Purpose Energy site on March 11 and 12th. In addition, crews from the electric department continue to work on installing the electrical feeds to the site.

The Village has received word back from the Department of Commerce that our DORA application meets all related liquor requirements. The seven qualified permit holders will be receiving a letter authorizing them to participate in the DORA. Signs designating the DORA area have been ordered and will be installed in the near future. In addition, we are working on obtaining a supplier for the DORA cups and stickers that will go on the business’s doors. We will also be holding a meeting with the permit holders to go over the DORA requirements. Crews from Heyne Construction continue to work on the Paris Street Shelter House Project. Even with the cold weather, they continue to lay block for the shelter house facility, completing the west wall and currently working on the north wall. Heyne’s have advised us that within the next couple of weeks, they should wrap up the block walls and begin starting the wood framing and setting trusses. We have started work on the new well field generator building at the Four Seasons Park. This building was damaged by the tornado a couple of years ago. Village employees excavated for the footers and Woehrmyer Concrete is in the process of pouring the footers. Baumer Construction will start construction of the building shortly. The fire department has sold the old grass truck to a fire department in West Virgina. We utilized the GovDeals.com and received $32,000.00 for the vehicle. Sidewalk repair letters have gone out to residents. Residents have until May 1st to let the village know if they are going to do the work themselves or have the village’s contractor repair the sidewalks. Residents who elect to complete the work themselves, have until July 11th to do so. Parks crews have removed the wooden structure that was built into the fence at the pool. The structure was starting to show signs of rot. Currently, there is a section of temporary fencing up where the structure used to be. As soon as weather cooperates, we will install a new section of permanent fencing.

The Village has learned from the Ohio Department of Transportation that our request to have the speed limit lowered on State Route 66 from Seventh Street to SR 119/Bensman Road has been approved. The speed limit will be lowered from 45 mph to 35 mph on both sides of the road in this area. Officials from ODOT have indicated that their sign crews will be changing out the speed limit signs in the next few weeks. Crews from Heyne Construction continue to work on the Paris Street Shelter House Project. Even with the cold weather, they continue to lay block for the shelter house facility. In addition, they have completed the plumbing rough-ins and continue to work on the in wall electrical rough-ins. Heyne’s have advised us that within the next couple of weeks, they should begin starting the wood framing and setting trusses. On Friday, January 20th, the village and Choice One Engineering met with Jeff Ball from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Real Estate and Land Management team and Dave Faler, ODNR’s Miami Erie Canal Land Manager regarding the extension of a multi-use trail from First Street to Loramie Creek, just north of Ft. Loramie. Both Mr. Ball and Mr. Faler indicated that the walking path could be placed along the tow path of the canal on exisitng land owned and managed by ODNR. Mr. Faler indicated that his crews could build the stone base for the trail, if village crews would assist with hauling dirt and stone. Mr. Faler stated that the village could utilize the funds from the State to purchase the stone. Work on the project could begin in June. Choice One Engineering is verifying surveys along the route and the village’s will be sending notices to adjacent property owners regarding the project. The TDS dilution wells installed by Moody’s of Dayton on land south of the waste water treatment facility are now operatable. Crews are able to run the wells in hand, but are not yet able to run the wells off of the village’s SCADA system. CDM Smith, Buschur Electric and Moody’s are working on a few minor details in order to make the wells operable off of the SCADA system. Hopefully, this work will be completed shortly.