Published: November 21, 2008 12:51 am      

Completion date set for Fairmont’s sewer upgrade

Construction expected to be finished by January

FAIRMONT — A new completion date for the ongoing, citywide sanitary sewer upgrade project was set Thursday morning by the Fairmont Sanitary Sewer Board.

The construction on the equalization (EQ) basin, which is the last leg of the project, is expected to be finished by the first of January, design department head for project engineers Greenhorne and O’Mara Steve Cain said.

Unexpected delays from the concrete manufacturers caused the original completion date to be pushed back, Cain explained, and a change order to implement the new date of completion was approved by board members Thursday.

Members also approved a resolution to execute a utility agreement between the board and the West Virginia Division of Highways (DOH) for the relocation of a line on U.S. Route 250 for this final phase of the project.

“This was the missing piece of the puzzle for the EQ basin,” city utilities manager Dave Sago said.

Cain said the line relocation will cost $247,433, which the city will front and be reimbursed for by the DOH.

In other business Thursday, board members discussed possible changes that may be coming with new stormwater utility regulations from the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection in the spring.

Currently, all residential city utility customers are charged a flat $5.50 monthly rate for stormwater runoff. And non-residential customers are charged a flat $16.75 if the structure is more than 2,500 square feet and $2.20 per 1,000 square feet of impervious area if it is less than 2,500 square feet.

An ordinance was passed in April that changed the rates for the smaller non-residential structures, and Sago said the board is still monitoring the budget to see how much of an impact the change has made. The ordinance also gave the sanitary board jurisdiction to change the rates if necessary for the future.

Sago said Thursday that the rates will be looked at again in the spring after new general stormwater permit regulations are introduced by the DEP, but no action has been taken on the rates as of yet.

Sago also said the department began advertising for a new city engineer to replace Jim Fetty. Fetty resigned from his position last month, and John Carson has been serving as the interim engineer since Fetty left.

Sago said the advertisement will be posted until Dec. 31, after which the city will review the applications received and hold an interview process to find a permanent replacement for the position.

E-mail Mallory Panuska at mpanuska@timeswv.com.