ORWELL – The Orwell Department of Public Services has begun to take shape after being created by merging several village departments on Jan. 20, according to remarks made during a Tuesday, Feb. 10, work session of Orwell Village Council.
The new Department of Public Services merges the Streets, Water and Sewer and Lands and Buildings departments into one, with Shane Gregory serving as director. During the Jan. 20 council meeting, Village Administrator Dr. Sean Ratican told council the move would allow for better flexibility in sharing personnel, vehicles and other resources among the separate departments.
Two new village employees have been hired, according to Ratican, who told council more work will now be done in-house, rather than by contractors. Nate Johnson was hired on at the village wastewater treatment plant for 20 hours a week.
At the water treatment plant, B&J Environmental will be contributing additional resources and tasked Logan Newell, a former village employee, with overseeing efforts there.
Ratican said there are nine wells in the village that need to be decommissioned, and that he would like to explore drilling some new ones.
Newell reportedly said backflow valves in the village need to be checked for proper installation and all check and backflow valves need to be exercised. Twenty percent of backflow valves – including those at residences, need to be tested every year, according to Ratican.
One problem area is the backflow valve at A&W, which has been paved over, creating a potential for problems if there is a watermain break in the area, he added. B&J is working on a plan to coordinate resources and address the problem.
Additionally, filter screens need to be cleaned at the Grand Valley Local Schools campus and two vehicles at the Department of Public Services, including the crane truck, need to be replaced, Ratican reported.
In other business:
The new five-year, 3-mill fire levy was filed with the Board of Elections and ballot language submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State, according to Ratican.
The village administrator also briefed council on financing for the new fire truck. He said he’d talked with Erie Bank, which provided a 4.74-percent interest rate with annual payments, based on $1 million-$1.5 million in financing.
He said he’d also talked to the U.S. Department of Agriculture about securing a lower interest rate, but was told funding may not be available. Ratican said he was moving ahead with an application.
The next work session meeting of Orwell Village Council is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, at 5 p.m. at Village Hall, 179 W. Main St.
