Current Amboy Weather
Fair
Temperature: 57.6 °F
Wind Speed: 3 mph NW
Gusts: 8 mph WNW
Rain Today: 0.00 "
|
Complete Forecast...
 
Amboy Gossip
No Gossip Yet...Post A Juicy Tidbit
Start A New Discussion...
|
|
Scouring 4,399 sources for Amboy news so you don't have to.
|
|
FRIDAY’S SCORES
Found: 1 Week 12 Hours 51 Minutes ago
The Vindicator - FRIDAY’S SCORES AREA Warren Harding 63, Chaney 0 Fitch 49, East 12 Springfield 18,
...
Four Conneaut projects targeted for state money
Found: 1 Week 3 Days 20 Hours 51 Minutes ago
The Star-Beacon - Four municipal projects in Conneaut are on the fast track for state infrastructure funding, interim City Manager Edward Somppi said at Monday?s City Council meeting....
Click here for complete statewide Friday night football scores
Found: 1 Week 6 Days 8 Hours 25 Minutes ago
Mansfield News Journal - Ada 28, Dola Hardin Northern 0Akr. Ellet 35, Akr. Springfield 7...
Roundup: Harvey spikers open with split
Found: 1 Week 6 Days 8 Hours 50 Minutes ago
The Star-Beacon - Harvey opened its volleyball season by splitting a pair of natches at the Madison Tournament on Saturday. The Red Raiders (1-1) began the day with a win, 25-23, 25-17, over Cleveland Central Catholic....
WEEKEND RESULTS
Found: 1 Week 6 Days 11 Hours 46 Minutes ago
The Vindicator - WEEKEND RESULTS FOOTBALL SATURDAY’S SCORES AREA East 26, Cle. South 6 Warren Harding 24,
...
Water coalition proposal makes waves in Lyons
Found: 2 Weeks 6 Days 8 Hours 44 Minutes ago
Toledo Blade - LYONS, Ohio — Fulton County commissioners plan to establish a water-utility coalition, made up of several rural communities, to improve water quality and service in addition to saving residents money.
But village officials in Lyons, one of the communities asked to join the effort, aren’t buying what the county is selling — at least not yet.
“We have been shown nothing that says it’s going to reduce the cost of water to our residents,” Lyons Village Administrator Vicki Smith said.
Fulton County Sanitary Engineer Ziad Musallam said if Lyons opts out, the entire project could be in jeopardy.
“The number of residents or users would be lower. ...Therefore, the cost per thousand gallons will increase [for individual users],” he said. “It definitely will be a tough issue to sell to Metamora and county residents to be affected.”
Fulton County commissioners want to form a coalition involving Amboy, Royalton, Fulton, and Pike townships, in addition to the villages of Metamora and Lyons and much of the Evergreen Local School District.
Because they don’t have any major bodies of water from which to draw water, many Fulton County residents who live in sparsely populated townships and villages rely on ponds or wells or have water shipped in from other communities, such as Toledo.
The county already has a contract with Toledo and Lucas County to provide specific residents with up to 12 million gallons per day from Toledo’s surplus water supply.
Using a larger portion of that same supply, the proposed Fulton County water coalition’s participating rural communities would pipe in water through a new 12-inch water line estimated to cost $6 million, which officials hope to buy with state and federal grants.
Mr. Musallam said up to 1,350 people in all four townships could use the service, but individual homeowners could choose to be excluded.
He said 1,100 people combined in Lyons and Metamora could receive the service, which also would supply water to about 1,400 students in Evergreen Schools.
“A typical household uses about 6,000 gallons of water a month,” Mr. Musallam said. “If you happened to live in one of these communities and, say Lyons participated, [at that rate] your water bill will be about $30.48 per month. That’s without debt service.”
If Lyons decides not to participate, he added, an individual’s water bill would be $34.92 a month without debt service, but the cost of the project also would be reduced by $1.3 million because less infrastructure would be necessary.
Lyons officials, however, dispute Mr. Musallam’s figures.
“What he’s given us right now, the cost of the water is $50 a month where what we’re charging right now is $17 for the first 2,000 gallons,” Ms. Smith said
But supplying enough water isn’t the only problem in Fulton County.
Metamora and Lyons have water quality issues that put them at odds with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency because of the levels of trihalomethanes in their water.
Trihalomethanes are a chemical by-product formed when the chlorine used to sanitize water reacts with organic matter such as leaves or aquatic plants.
In small quantities, trihalomethanes, which are present in water supplies in much of northwest Ohio, are thought to be harmless.
But Dina Pierce, a spokesman with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said levels tend to build in water systems when unused water sits in pipes, which happens in rural communities where there aren’t enough people to quickly use all the water in the lines.
Trihalomethanes “could affect the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system and could have an increased risk of getting cancer,” Ms. Pierce said.
Effects, of course, depend on age, weight, how much water is consumed and for how long water with trihalomethanes is consumed.
“We’re talking decades, to have negative health effects,” Ms. Pierce said
Trihalomethanes are removed through water treatment.
Metamora has its own water treatment facility.
Lyons’ water is purchased from and treated by the city of Wauseon, which is almost 15 miles southwest of Lyons.
Ms. Pierce said when treated water travels through pipes for great distances, trihalomethanes tend to build up more quickly, especially when the water isn’t used quickly.
“You generally see with communities that use surface water, like Ten Mile Creek, which Metamora uses, that the water sits and collects higher levels,” she said.
In 2005, the Ohio EPA ruled that Metamora was in violation of state law for failing to reduce its trihalomethane levels as instructed.
The agency has warned Lyons officials as well, although no formal violation has occurred.
“If [communities in violation] do not bring their public water system into compliance within a reasonable amount of time, the agency will refer the matter to the state attorney general’s office for further enforcement action, including civil penalties,” Ms. Pierce said.
Ms. Smith said the Ohio EPA informed the village of the problem in 2007, and Lyons has been working to lower its trihalomethane levels.
“We’ve lowered the level of water in our water tower,” she said.
“We flush the system out monthly. We’ve changed our chlorination, putting less chlorine in it... Our plan was implemented in September, 2007. The EPA has asked us to meet their levels by September, 2008.”
Mr. Musallam said the county’s plan would eliminate Lyons’ water quality concerns even though the water would be piped in from a relatively long distance.
“We tested the water,” he said. “By the time it gets to the longest travel time, which is about three or four days travel time, the level has not exceeded acceptable [trihalomethane] levels.”
But Ms. Smith said trihalomethane levels increase in warm weather and the county’s tests were done in February and March.
Paul Barnaby, president of the Fulton County commissioners, said Lyons is the only target community not on board with the county’s proposed water coalition.
“They can participate up until the point that we decide that everything’s go and if they aren’t with us at that point they aren’t going to be a part of the project,” Mr. Barnaby said.
Ms. Smith said Lyons Village Council members want to see more concrete evidence that joining the new coalition will lower the cost of providing water and improve water quality.
“If this new line was going to benefit our residents, I’m sure we’d be jumping on it, but I don’t believe we’ve been shown that,” she said.
Mr. Musallam said if everything goes according to plan, the county can begin installing its new water lines by spring.
Contact Chauncey Alcorn at:calcorn@theblade.com or 419-724-6168.
...
Toledo, Sylvania in deal to trim water surcharge
Found: 3 Weeks 2 Days 14 Hours 54 Minutes ago
Toledo Blade - The city of Toledo will sell water to Sylvania residents at a cheaper rate in exchange for a share of income tax for all new development at Flower Hospital, the mayors of both cities announced yesterday.
Sylvania Mayor Craig Stough said he was pleased with the arrangement, which will cut the surcharge on water sales from 125 percent to 75 percent. Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner said the agreement would increase the city's tax revenue.
"A regional approach to encouraging growth is essential if all parties are to profit," Mr. Finkbeiner said. "We are making an effort to facilitate this growth by using our resources and expertise to keep and attract new businesses wherever they wish to locate in our region."
The agreement must be approved by the councils of both cities.
Toledo City Council voted last year to increase, from 100 percent to 125 percent, the surcharge on water sales to communities without water contracts. The vote called for 5 percent increases each year thereafter until a contract is signed.
Sylvania was the largest community in that category.
Customers in Sylvania currently pay about $4.60 for 1,000 gallons of water. Toledo's rate for Sylvania is the base rate of $1.37 per 1,000 gallons plus a $1.37 surcharge. Sylvania, which manages its own water distribution, tacks on a $1.85 charge, said Jeff Ballmer, director of Sylvania's Department of Public Service.
The cost had increased at the beginning of the year from $1.30 per 1,000 gallons and a $1.30 surcharge.
Sylvania owns an easement through Monroe County from Lake Erie for a water line. Mr. Stough said the city could opt to build a new water system for $40 to $60 million, which he said is too expensive.
Sylvania's contract for water with Toledo expired in 1995. Since then, it has purchased water without a contract.
In 2004, then-Mayor Jack Ford announced that Toledo and Sylvania were close to an agreement on a water contract. Until 1995, Sylvania was paying Toledo's base rate plus 40 percent, with discounts as volume increased.
John Madigan, general counsel for the city of Toledo, said other communities purchasing water without a contract will face the 125 percent surcharge unless they approve some sort of tax-sharing agreement.
The joint development agreements have emerged as a way to boost municipal tax revenues since Toledo failed to expand its boundaries through annexation.
Robert Reinbolt, Mr. Finkbeiner's chief of staff, said he could not give an exact figure on how much Toledo would receive from the Sylvania agreement.
"You look at the campus out there and there is plenty of room to grow," Mr. Reinbolt said. "This [agreement] is quite a dollar savings for the citizens of Sylvania."
Flower Hospital, 5200 Harroun Rd., broke ground in June, 2007, on the Hickman Cancer Center's 8,500-square-foot expansion. Renovations to the existing 10,000-square-foot outpatient cancer center will be completed by the end of the year.
Mr. Finkbeiner last week announced construction of a $2.6 million pipeline to carry municipal water to the western Lucas County village of Berkey.
The city will pay the cost and residents of Berkey will be assessed about $15,000 per household over 30 years to pay for the construction, in addition to paying for the water.
Mr. Finkbeiner said the city gains customers and tax-sharing revenue from any new businesses that locate in Berkey, should the village implement an income tax. Berkey must also limit residential development with the use of Toledo water, as specified in an approved Berkey land-use plan.
In 2006, Toledo City Council approved an agreement for water sales to the unincorporated parts of Lucas County, if township residents want to pay for it, including Berkey. The deal allows Toledo to sell water to rural western townships if they adopt policies that restrict growth and agree to share any resulting tax benefits with the city.
Contact Ignazio Messina at:
imessina@theblade.com
or 419-724-6171.
...
Toledo, Sylvania leaders reach water deal
Found: 3 Weeks 2 Days 19 Hours 57 Minutes ago
Toledo Blade - The city of Toledo will sell water to Sylvania residents at a cheaper rate in exchange for a share of income tax for all new development at Flower Hospital, the mayor’s of both cities announced Monday.
Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner said the agreement would bolster the city’s tax revenue.
"A regional approach to encouraging growth is essential if all parties are to profit," Mr. Finkbeiner said. "We are making an effort to facilitate this growth by using our resources and expertise to keep and attract new businesses wherever they wish to locate in our region."
Sylvania Mayor Craig Stough said he was pleased with the arrangement, which will cut the surcharge on water sales from 125 percent to 75 percent.
Toledo council voted last year to increase the surcharge on water sales to communities with no water contract from 100 percent to 125 percent, with automatic 5 percent increases each year thereafter until a contract is signed.
Sylvania was the largest community in that category.
Sylvania owns an easement through Monroe County from Lake Erie for a water line. Mr. Stough said the city could opt to build a new water system for $40 million to $60 million, which he said is too expensive.
Slyvania’s contract for water with Toledo expired in 1995 and has since then purchased water without a contract.
In 2004, then-Mayor Jack Ford announced that Toledo and Sylvania were close to agreement on a water contract. Until 1995, Sylvania was paying Toledo’s base rate plus 40 percent, with discounts as volume increased.
Mayor Finkbeiner last week announced construction of a $2.6 million pipeline to carry municipal water to the western Lucas County village of Berkey.
The city will pay the cost and residents of Berkey will be assessed about $15,000 per household over 30 years to pay for the construction, in addition to paying for the water.
Mr. Finkbeiner said the city gains customers and tax-sharing revenue from any new businesses that locate in Berkey, should the village implement an income tax. Berkey must also limit residential development with the use of Toledo water, as specified in an approved Berkey land-use plan.
In 2006, Toledo City Council approved an agreement for water sales to the unincorporated parts of Lucas County, if township residents want to pay for it, including Berkey. The deal allows Toledo to sell water to rural western townships if they adopt policies that restrict growth and agree to share any resulting tax benefits with the city.
...
LEAF concludes another campaign in Conneaut
Found: 1 Month 2 Days 18 Hours 15 Minutes ago
The Star-Beacon - CONNEAUT ?Wet weather put a slight crimp in a week-long program that put a fresh face on many houses in the Conneaut area, officials said....
Blotter: July 26, 2008
Found: 1 Month 2 Days 21 Hours 11 Minutes ago
The Chronicle-Telegram - Elyria police Thursday, July 24 8:46 a.m. – 600 block Boston Ave., vehicle stolen. 11:20 a.m. – 900 block Duffey St., Little League concession stand broken into. 4:33 p.m. – 200 Sixth St., air-conditioning unit stolen from window of home. 7:45 p.m. – 200 block West Ave., criminal damaging.
[...]...
|
|
