News
Commissioners Approve Borrowing For Sewer Plant
By: Steve Robb - Athens Messenger staff reporter
Posted on:
Issuing of an $858,000 bond to finance improvements to The Plains sewage treatment plant and equipment purchases for the county engineer was approved Wednesday by the Athens County Commissioners.
The bond is being purchased by Hocking Valley Bank, which is charging the county 2.33 percent interest. The debt is to be repaid over 10 years.
Most of the money — $500,000 — will go for The Plains sewage treatment plant upgrade, with that portion of the debt to be repaid from sewer bill revenues. The remaining $358,000 will be spent by the engineer's department for equipment and will be repaid from the engineer's budget.
The Messenger previously reported that the commissioners selected Kirk Brothers Co. of Alvada for the sewer plant project. The company’s price of $1.03 million was the low bid, and the county already has part of the money for the project set aside. Rich Kasler, superintendent of the Athens County Water and Sewer District, has said previously that engineering construction administration and inspection and other expenses bring the amount that needs to be available for the project to about $1.25 million, including a contingency fund.
The plant will be switched to ultra-violet disinfection, and other work will include installation of a new influent pump station, a new head works tank and miscellaneous utility work.
The $358,000 for the engineer’s department will be used to buy two pickup trucks, a truck with a dump bed, concrete forms, a truck bed, concrete saw, backhoe and attachments, a hydraulic hammer and a hydraulic compactor.