MANSFIELD — Attorney Eric Miller said Wednesday he has always considered himself an infrastructure guy.
The driving force behind the citizen-led Mansfield water main replacement initiative project — who also led a similar drive for the Pothole Haters Tax four decades ago — said he was gratified to see his latest passion project come to fruition.
“Even before I committed to taking a job here in town, I talked to the city about the wastewater treatment plant. I was actually encouraged to apply for an entry-level job there. But I was coming back to town to practice law,” Miller said.
“So my public infrastructure advocacy goes back 50 years,” he said.
Miller was invited by Mayor Jodie Perry to participate in a ceremony on Parkway Drive near North Lake Park to officially launch the process of physically replacing aging four-inch water mains in Mansfield with new eight-inch lines.
The city will use funds narrowly approved by voters in March of 2024 that will replace nearly three miles of the century-old pipes next year.
The four-year, quarter-percent income tax will generate about $4.8 million annually, funds which can only be used for the water main work.
“This is really important and something the city has long needed to tackle,” Perry said. “But in communities of this size, it’s always hard to find the money.
“I want to thank everyone who is here today, especially Eric Miller and his whole cadre of folks that helped,” she said.
(Below are photos from a ceremony Wednesday morning to mark the launch of the Mansfield water main replacement project around the city. The story continues below the photos.)
It’s the start of a long-term process city leaders hope to use in replacing 53 miles of the smaller water lines with new eight-inch lines in the city. Officials have said it would take “about four cycles” of the four-year tax to replace all of the smaller lines.
“Hopefully when this project is done, we’re going to have one of the newer water main systems throughout the state. That will be really exciting, but it’s going to take some time, so I hope you’ll be patient with us,” the mayor said.
Six locations around the city were selected for the project in 2025, a $3.6 million task that will be done by B K Layer LLC.
The Perrysville company submitted the lowest of four bids for the 2025 work at $3,684,548. The other three bids were all more than $4 million.
Public Works Director Louis Andres called it a “big step for Mansfield from 1808, where we had wooden water lines.”
“Special thanks to our (Service Complex). The last couple of years that I have been here, we have been spending most of our time repairing these (water) lines,” Andres said.
“It’s about time we get new lines so we can get things running smoothly. Our staff has been working tirelessly almost seven days a week to keep up with all of the necessary repairs to all of our water lines,” he said.
“This is going to be a huge benefit for us, freeing up people and to have nice, clean, safe drinking water and more (water) pressure,” Andres said.
(Below are maps showing where the City of Mansfield plans to replace water mains and fire hydrants in 2025.)
During his remarks, Miller pointed out how close the election victory was in 2024 after voters rejected it by more than 200 votes in November 2023 (5,865 to 5,251).
Four months later, it passed by 97 votes — 2,701 to 2,604.
“Everyone who worked on this can truly say that absent your effort, it would not have passed,” Miller said.
“When the vote margins are that close, every ally you have ends up being vital, ends up being the person without whom we might not have passed it.”
The issue was nearly not offered to voters a second time.
A couple of weeks after voters rejected it, Mansfield City Council denied Miller and his group’s request and voted 6-1 against putting it back on the March 2024 primary ballot. That would have required Miller’s group to hurry during winter months to try to get enough signatures to take another swing at the ballot box.
That decision didn’t rest well with a group of local residents who attended a Dec. 5 council meeting, including long-time local business owner Rick Taylor.
“Opposing the plan proposed by the Water Main Initiative (group) is not a plan. I’m anxious to hear what your plan is. Do you have one? If not, please vote to allow the Mansfield Water Main initiative on the (March) ballot,” said Taylor, a third-generation local entrepreneur.
“I think a ‘no’ vote sends a message that you do not care about our water infrastructure. It shows you do not care about our safety and it shows you do not care about the city of Mansfield. That’s my thought,” said Taylor, who owns the Hudson & Essex in downtown Mansfield.
Ultimately, lawmakers changed their minds on Dec. 5 and voted 6-2 to put the issue on the ballot again.
The project to replace 14,000 feet of water lines in 2025 will also include 37 new fire hydrants and will reconnect 246 homes.
When officials pushed for the tax, they said there were 385 fire hydrants in Mansfield that could not function properly due to old water lines, impacting 2,400 structures.
On Wednesday morning, city engineer Bob Bianchi held up a small section of the four-inch, cast iron water pipe that ran about five feet below Parkway Road.
“It has what is called tuberculation, which is corrosion that builds up in the pipe that reduces the opening, reduces the volume of (water) flow,” Bianchi said.
“It adds a lot of friction forces that slows water down and we can’t have proper water through our hydrants for our firefighters to properly fight the fires,” he said.
‘We’re going to hit the ground running this year and replaced about 14,0000 feet throughout the city. It wasn’t difficult (selecting) these locations. We have so many lines that need replaced, but as we move forward, you’ll see more and more construction just like with the (street) resurfacing project,” Bianchi said.
The engineer encouraged residents to follow progress on the water main replacement effort by visiting this city website.
“If you go on there and click on project status, you can see where they are at. As the contractor moves through the city, you can see exactly where they are at and where they’re headed,” Bianchi said.
The engineer said all six of the project areas are scheduled to be complete by Nov. 15.
“The sequence of construction is up to the discretion of the contractor. We didn’t want to lock them in on exactly how we wanted it built because that increases the price,” he said, adding door hangers will be used to notify residents with tentative start dates for their streets.
According to city officials, the city engineer’s office will work to evaluate the condition of water mains throughout the city.
Priority is given to areas with aging infrastructure, frequent breaks or capacity issues. On average, three miles of water main will be replaced each year.
The replacement program will typically includes the following tasks:
- Installation of new ductile iron watermain pipe;
- Connection of new mains to existing water system infrastructure;
- Installation of new valves, hydrants, and service lines as needed;
- Pressure testing, disinfection, and flushing of the new main before activation;
- Abandonment of the existing watermain.
Additional work performed during water main projects includes:
- Temporary water service connections to maintain customer supply;
- Restoration of impacted pavement, sidewalks, and landscaping;
- Coordination with resurfacing schedules when applicable.
(Below is a PDF with details on the 2025 water main replacement program planned in the City of Mansfield.)
