Fri Jul 30 2010
Things are happening in Byesville. If you have been down around Hope Avenue lately, you may have noticed some activity at the new sewer plant site.
Stanley Miller Construction Co., the general contractor for the project, dug a 35-foot deep hole to set the "wet well." (This is the collection point where the wastewater will enter the plant.) This was the first major step in the construction phase of the facility. The winter weather has slowed the project, but they are still doing what they can.
Some folks have questioned the cost and need for this new sewer plant. The simple truth is that the old plant has out lived its useful life. It is unable to meet the requirements of the village's EPA permit and has been in violation of the law for several years. The village had no choice but to upgrade our wastewater system to come into compliance with the law or face huge fines. The mayor and village council looked long and hard at the options before us (which included spending more money on the old plant) and agreed that building our new plant was in the best interest of the residents of Byesville. Local people were used for hauling in the fill dirt, as well as several local businesses have been patronized. This has helped keep funds in our community. It is expected that more local people will benefit before the project is completed.
The cost to build the new plant comes in at $8,762,998.62. Fortunately for the village, the Ohio EPA was able to provide stimulus funds for the project. Their grant to the village amounted to $3,995,000. The Appalachian Regional Commission was able to supply $200,000 in grant funds as well. Byesville residents will continue to pay some of the lowest rates in the county for water and sewer services. The plant will become an asset to our community as the village will have the sewer and water capacity to handle additional industry and/or expansion of current plants now or in the future. Someone once said, "If you build it, they will come." We know for sure, if you don't have it, you don't have a very good chance to get them to come.
Over the last two years, the village's Utilities Department has done what we could to tighten our belts. We have had a reduction in labor and management staff, implemented cost containment procedures and have modernized our processes. All of the funding for village utilities comes from user fees (water and sewer bills). None of your services are paid for with income tax collections. As the village continues to weather the economic storm that has hit us, residents can be assured that the mayor, village council and village employees will continue to search for ways to make Byesville one of the best places in Guernsey County to live.
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