WARREN — Finalized contracts between Trumbull County and Girard, authorizing the city to use county waterlines to deliver water to some of its customers outside of the city and setting rates for the wastewater treatment services the city provides for the county, are unlikely to come this year.

County commissioners this week are expected to extend a bridge agreement continuing the expired contract through the end of the year, one of several extensions in the last 18 months.

Commissioners last week voted against the new 20-year contracts with the city, placing them on hold in favor of adding some different contract language — including a reduction in the length of the contract to a few years and the ability to exit the contract.

But Girard Mayor James Melfi said Monday in a phone interview that some of their requests are not tenable to the city, that the city has invested large sums of money in the water infrastructure and the city won’t budge on leveraging higher water rates from customers outside of the city limits.

“We don’t want to deviate from the 20-year contract,” Melfi said. “We’ve made big investments — $1.2 million to upgrade the Sampson Road water tank and we have to pay that back over a five-year period from our water fund, with interest.”

Long-term contracts typically are the norm in utility infrastructure agreements, because of the often long-term funding and maintenance of the structures, sanitary engineer Gary Newbrough said previously.

GIRARD’S SYSTEM

Girard has invested other funds in the water system that serves the residents, Melfi said.

“What always goes unsaid is, over decades and decades, the city of Girard made improvements — and gave them the use of water. It was our investment 65 years ago that brought water to them. Liberty Township or the county didn’t give a dime for the Sampson Road water tank upgrade. A few years ago we replaced a waterline on East Drive, that was $127,000. We put remote meters in for the Liberty customers to the tune of $350,000.”

The city pays for all of the maintenance costs, sending out its crews for breaks whenever they occur, Melfi said.

“Girard is exclusively paying for the maintenance. They want everything, new lines and better pressure, but don’t want to pay for it,” Melfi said.

Commissioners, through the sanitary engineer’s department, made several efforts over the last few years to negotiate costs down for those customers, without success. But, they do like the terms of the wastewater contract, though they want to be able to exit the contract with more ease, if necessary.

Melfi did say, however, that if an ongoing utility infrastructure study being conducted by the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments can offer a solution that will lead to lower water rates for people in the Mahoning Valley, and specifically people in Girard, he’d be happy to get on board with the regionalization efforts.

“My own sister and my best friend” pay the higher rates in the area in question, Melfi said.

LAYERS OF COSTS

Now, the city charges any customer outside the city limit 40 percent more than it charges its residents.

And because the city has to buy water from multiple sources that charge more to outside buyers such as Girard, this tacks on costs to the water it buys, too. The customers in certain areas end up with several layers of increased water costs.

So while county customers pay $8.22 per 1,000 gallons of water, Girard residents pay $12.39 per 1,000 gallons and the Girard customers in Liberty pay $17.35 per 1,000 gallons.

In Liberty, 1,442 customers pay that rate, along with 401 customers in Weathersfield who pay the higher rate to Girard, but they aren’t on the water infrastructure in question under the agreement with the commissioners.

While some sellers of water charge less, such as Niles, some charge more, such as Youngstown, Melfi said.

“We buy as much as we can from Niles because it is cheaper, but we have to buy in strategic ways in order to get good water pressure. We have to buy higher-priced water from Youngstown,” Melfi said.

Melfi said if the customers want lower rates, they can annex into the city as others have done.

“I’ve never been aggressive about annexation, but if you want to pay the city rates, move into the city,” Melfi said.

He added that he wishes he could get lower rates for all of the water customers in and out of the city, but because the city didn’t join the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District partnership with Youngstown and Niles, the city is stuck passing on the cost of the higher rates it has to pay, too.

“I wish I could get the Niles and Youngstown rate for my citizens. I wish I could lower the rates for my citizens. But I can’t. In 1928, Girard refused to join the MVSD. We were getting water for free from caves. I wish our forefathers had joined MVSD, but they didn’t and we don’t cry about it,” Melfi said.