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WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners approved a change order to a multi-million-dollar Heaton Chute Sanitary Sewer Improvement Project that will allow the addition of 28 service connections to properties and businesses.
Pollard Land Services Inc. of Poland, Pa., was awarded the original contract to do the water line project in November 2022.
The completed project is expected to bring sanitary sewerlines to 77 existing structures in the Heaton Chute neighborhood in Weathersfield that currently have septic tanks.
It will serve portions of state Route 169, Ashland Avenue, Beech Street, Broadway Avenue, Columbus Avenue, Emerson Avenue, Emmet Street, Grandview Avenue, Grove Street, Harrison Street and Heaton Boulevard.
The original contract amount is $2.69 million. Up to $571,000 will be paid through American Rescue Plan Act funds, $750,000 from an Ohio Public Works Commission grant, $250,000 from an Appalachian Regional Commission grant and $520,000 from a community development block grant.
The county secured a $1.3 million Ohio Environmental Protection Agency zero-percent loan.
There was an earlier change order approved by the commissioners for $21,517.85, which increased the cost of the project to $2.7 million.
The latest change passed on Wednesday will allow the project to add the 28 sewerlines for $162,959; $2,203 for the repair of unmarked water service connection damaged by the contractor though no fault of the contractor; and $17,878 for the restoration of of roads where the heavy equipment will cause damage.
The $17,878 will allow the contractor to place a 2-inch intermediate asphalt overlay on the entire affected area of the repairs instead of patching only the area where the work is being done.
Ohio EPA Water Pollution Control Loan Funds will pay the entire cost of the change order and the Ohio EPA has already pre-approved payment, according to Sanitary Engineer Gary Newbrough.
Commissioner Denny Malloy noted that Newbrough's work with Weathersfield Township will allow repavement of the road instead of patching the areas where new lines are placed.
"It would not have looked professional," Malloy said. "Gary came up with a plan to asphalt the road for very minimal costs, so you will not be able to see where the work was done."
Property owners will be responsible for paying a monthly capital charge for the placement of the service connections that will be used to retire the debt.
The project is projected to be completed in October 2023. There will be no additional cost to the county.
Also Wednesday:
• Commissioners approved a resolution to support the West Warren Development application to the Rural Industrial Park Loan Program for the development of property located in southwest Warren.
Mike Martof, managing director with West Warren Development LLC, during a May meeting with Warren City Council, described the project as being a site for manufacturing and distribution businesses.
The initial project of 100,000 square feet would be an investment of $10 million to $12 million.
Martof suggested they would bring in companies by late 2024 or early 2025 for distribution and light industrial work.
The developers are expecting to build concrete buildings, which will have a 30- to 50-year lifespan,
• The Trumbull County Human Resources Department is advertising to hire a person to work as its human resources coordinator.
The employee will answer to new county Resources Director Alexandra DeVengencie-Bush, who was named to that position earlier this year. Commissioners are discussing whether to increase DeVengencie-Bush's pay due to her prior experience.
The HR coordinator position will assist the director in the overall operation and coordination of the HR department, including the administration of workers compensation; countywide Insurance programs, HR research and data analysis and doing correspondence and memos.
The salary of the coordinator is expected to be $42,263.28.