By Sam Wildow
TROY — The Troy City Council’s Finance Committee on Monday recommended submitting a $16.1 million loan application to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fund the construction cost of upgrading city of Troy’s Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Patrick Titterington, director of Public Service and Safety, said the amount of $16.1 million was based on their most current cost estimates. Earlier this year, the city’s previous estimate for the cost of renovating and expanding the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant was $11 million.
Titterington said the current facility is at capacity in terms of the growth of the community. The Ohio EPA will also be adding new requirements, such as in regard to treating phosphorus and different metals, which the city will have to meet.
The expansion of the facility will allow the facility to treat up to 9.6 million gallons of wastewater per day, up from the current capacity of 7 million gallons per day. The project will include a blower replacement, piping and equipment modifications, replacement of pumps, and various electrical and instrumentation improvements. The design of the improvements is 90% complete, and a project permit is currently under review by the Ohio EPA.
The city is waiting to hear if it will receive grant funding through the state and through the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce, to offset the costs of the loan. The loan has a 0.65% interest rate. City staff said the city is looking at a 20-year loan period, but it can be extended to a 30-year loan.
According to city staff, a loan application to the Ohio EPA has to be submitted at least 60 days prior to project bid opening. Loans are then authorized after bids are opened and actual construction amounts are known . With the design nearing completion, it is anticipated that a request to council to authorize the bidding of project could be made as early as mid-June.
This loan application has not been authorized by the full council yet.
In other news:
Also on Monday, the council’s Buildings and Utilities Committee recommended moving forward with advertising for bids for the City Hall HVAC Upgrade Project at a cost not to exceed $430,000. According to a memorandum from Titterington, the roof top air handling units of City Hall have exceeded their design life of 20 years. The current units were installed during a renovation in 2001. A design firm has recommended replacing this unit due to its age, the growing maintenance costs, and the limitations of accessing replacement parts.
“This is a project that’s been budgeted for several years,” Titterington said. “We retained the architect firm of (Garmann Miller Architects & Engineers) to evaluate and make a recommendation on the replacement of the system, which is approximately 22 years old.”
Titterington said the project was originally budgeted not to exceed $350,000 for the replacement, but due to rising costs, the age of the current system, and what the design engineers are recommending to have put in its place, the project is now estimated not to exceed $430,000. Titterington provided a breakdown of five city fund balances that will accommodate the increase in estimated costs, including the city’s capital improvement, income tax, storm water, water, and sewer funds.
The Buildings and Utilities Committee also recommended moving forward with increasing the authorization for the Hobart Arena Roof Replacement Project from $670,000 to $800,000 The council previously authorized the city to seek bids for the roof replacement in February. These areas of the roof have not been replaced in approximately 20 years, and these improvements were not part of the renovation that was done to Hobart Arena approximately six years ago.
Titterington said the additional funds are available based on federal grant allocations for venues that were closed due to COVID, but a future reappropriation may be required.
These items have not been approved by the full council yet.
The next Troy City Council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on June 6 in council chambers on the second floor of City Hall, 100 S. Market St.
