Sanitation Board Manager Lucian Adkins told the Logan City Council that the PSD currently has three different construction crews working on their own sewer project who have caused major delays on the city of Logan's Combined Sewer Overflow project.
Adkins and Carol Conley discussed projects by the city water department is working on with councilmembers on Tuesday. Adkins said the first phase of the backwater project is ready to start, but a big problem caused by the PSD will force the city to hire an outside company to help with the project. Originally city employees were planning on doing most of the work themselves.
"But the Logan County PSD has three contractors in the area and hardly a day goes by that they don't break a water line," Adkins explained, saying it was "an unusual circumstance" that nobody foresaw.
Reportedly, over a dozen water lines have been broken by PSD crews. Adkins said the CSO construction project should start this week and he apologized to the public ahead of time for delays they will be facing.
"A lot of people are going to get upset because we will have to block some roads on this," Adkins said.
"It has been a major project," Conley said.
The construction work on the overflow problem which has plagued the city for many years will cost around $2 million project. Adkins said when the project is completed it will solve one major problem by increasing the diameter of the lines from a few inches in diameter to 36 inches in diameter. Adkins noted water won't back up in the lines when it rains leading to flooding problems in the summer or frozen streets in the winter.
The council also authorized a line of credit request it uses every year. City Accountant Jeff Valet said the funds will be needed to pay on a street department vehicle.
Valet had more sobering news for the city, explaining the financial condition of the city "is not good, but we knew that already." Valet recommended the city pay all its bills as they came in as it could afford them. He did have some good news, however. Valet said some major Business & Occupational (B&O) tax checks are expected to come in this month and in September.
Valet said there had been some staff changes which occurred in the city and that the city's deficit went down by $15,000 due to last month's tax collections. Over $100,000 of B&O taxes was collected in July. Valet said the city may also get a break from making changes in employees insurance. He recommended a special budget meeting to take place by the end of the month. Valet said a state auditor who was performing a five-year audit should be getting finished soon.
"He is currently working on 2003," Valet said. "He will give us a report for each year."
Valet said the five year audit dates to when Harry Ruloff became mayor and asked the state auditor's office to do one. However, that audit was not completed as the person doing it left the state auditor's office before finishing, which meant that 2003, 2004 and 2005 were not completed. The city administration changed mayors three times in the intervening years as well. Valet said all five years had to be done at the same time and that he was working with the new auditor. When Jim Guy asked about having an annual audit, Valet said it would cost around $9,000 a year for the state auditor to do it, but money was budgeted for one. Valet said outside auditors may be able to do it for less.
Mayor Serafino Nolletti said the city may have to slap injunctions against businesses who are delinquent in paying their B&O taxes. Valet said some local businesses have not paid them in six years. Valet said the city is still not seeing benefits from recent changes in sanitation. Valet said the new sanitary board projects may help pay off outstanding debts and in the near future the city may be able to cut back on fees to give residents some relief.
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