It took a month longer than anticipated, but the Coal Grove Village Council has hired a contractor to replace a critical water line.

The 12-inch diameter line runs underneath the railroad tracks from the water treatment plant on Riverside Drive to the water storage tank atop Brammer Drive. Mayor Tom McKnight has said that the line is badly in need of replacement because it leaks and has been repaired numerous times.

Bids were originally received a month ago. However, by law Council could not accept any of the bids because they were all 10 percent more than the $20,000 construction estimate projected for the project that is funded through the Lawrence County CAO.

So, the project was re-advertised earlier this month with a revised construction estimate of $22,000.

Council accepted five re-solicited bids and awarded a contract of $21,780 to Howard Contracting, Ltd., of McDermott. Four of the original bidders did not re-bid the project and McDermott was the lowest bidder and the only one below the new estimate.

The total cost of the project is $28,000, including all permits and engineering fees.

Howard Contracting has six days to sign the contract and would then begin construction within the next 10 days, Village Clerk Juanita Markel said. The project is expected to take a maximum of 30 days and should only affect the water supply for a few hours.

The village has wanted to replace the water line for about three years but the project progressed slowly because of a lack of funding and permits had to be acquired from Norfolk Southern because the water line runs underneath the railroad tracks.

In other business, Council:

4Adopted the final reading of an ordinance authorizing SRW Environmental Services Inc., an environmental engineering and consulting firm from Milford, to apply for $80,333 from the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund to continue analysis of the Carlyle Tile property.

The application has been on display at the Briggs Library. A public hearing will be conducted in the next two weeks before the application is submitted to the Ohio Department of Development.

4Heard the second reading of a resolution adopting a plan to meet the Environmental Protection Agency's storm water regulations.

Storm water includes runoff from ditches, culverts and any type of drainage from streets, parking lots and septic tanks.

The regulations require cities and municipalities to create a plan that addresses six criteria. The plan requires the village to develop a public education program, conduct public meetings to seek input, institute construction runoff management and post-construction management, monitor illicit discharges from septic tanks and other areas and keeps records of the street sweeping and cleaning of the catch basins in the storm sewers.