SOUTH POINT — A special meeting of village council will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 14 to award a contract for a new lift station for a physical rehabilitation hospital to be constructed in the village.

Mayor Jeff Gaskin said the project, which will be $900,000 in improvements, was discussed at this month’s meeting of council, which took place on Tuesday and the council authorized him to sign a loan agreement.

Gaskin said bids for the project will be opened on Monday, prior to the special meeting.

The Tuesday meeting is set for 7 p.m. and will include no other business, he said.

Also at the January meeting of council, which was an organizational meeting, Mary Cogan was chosen as mayor pro tempore for the village.

Gaskin said the council also agreed to fiscal adjustments regarding the police budget.

Tuesday’s meeting took place, even as some municipalities canceled business, due to the aftermath of Winter Storm Blair, which hit the Tri-State on Sunday.

Gaskin said streets in the village were well taken care of, with crews out early, first focusing on main streets and hills.

He noted that the village had two plows from state surplus for the work and said he had done a ride along with a plow driver, stating village officials were appreciative of the work put in by crews.

In other business, he said he has asked the fire department to start paperwork on seeking a new fire truck.

Gaskin said he estimates this will cost about $1 million for the village, which will be paid for by new funds from the fire levy passed last year.

Gaskin noted the cost of trucks have gone up and the same vehicle would have cost $30,000 30 years ago.

He said a new truck takes two years to build and that the plan is for the village to take out a 10-year loan for the purchase.

Gaskin also said the village would start reading water meters, which were installed over the past year, next week.

The village was mandated by the Ohio Department of Environmental Protection to install them, to come into compliance with state law.
Gaskin said the last of those were installed in the past month.

He said the bill for an average household will be $60-90 per month and said this would still be a lower rate for the village water system than private companies charge in other parts of the county.