MANSFIELD — The first step toward a $35 million overhaul of the Mansfield water treatment plant was approved Tuesday morning by the city’s Board of Control.
The board approved city engineer Bob Bianchi’s request to spend up to $40,000 with the Brickler & Eckler law firm to draw up paperwork needed to prepare for a bidding process.
Bianchi said the project will likely be issued as a mandate from the Ohio EPA through a notice of violations.
He said the project would likely be presented to Mansfield City Council either at its July 21 meeting or an August session. He said the timeframe for the project depends on council approval, a process he said that could take weeks or months.
Public Works Director Dave Remy said an engineering study of the work required reveals the expected price tag “is in the neighborhood” of $35 million.
Remy first broached the topic at a June 16 council meeting.
“We have got some hard situations to consider,” Remy said during the council meeting. “We don’t want to hide anything from anybody. We want to be as transparent as possible.”
An issue with the main water line at the plant in late December led to a four-day, citywide boil advisory.
Remy said the main line, which is 350 feet in length and 48 inches in diameter, had not been cleared of calcium carbonate buildups for 10 to 15 years.
Council approved a $58,000 contract with a Cincinnati-based company that cleaned the line with divers in May.
The Board of Control, consisting of Remy, Mayor Tim Theaker and Finance Director Linn Steward, also voted unanimously to:
— approve a $24,000 contract with Jackson Well Services for cleaning and rehab work at two of the city’s 10 wells on Brumenshenkel and Owens roads.
— approved purchase of a new pickup truck for the water department foreman, using money from the sewer fund, and for a new dump truck, using money from the street department.
