Village Manager's Report

September 5th , 2006

The recent drought was brought to an end by a series of weather systems that created problems for Villagers. Heavy rains brought temporary localized flooding in some areas. The rain increased the flow at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, due to inflows from rainwater collection systems, but the flows were under plant capacity.

Lightning and heavy winds brought down limbs of trees onto power lines. While some outages were brief, one area around Glen View, Southgate and Orton road required an overnight outage, as it was too dangerous for Village crews to work in wooded areas behind houses without daylight. There was a fear that energizing lines without knowing the line was clear of debris, might result in electrocution, fire or both.

A sewer line along Corry Street just North of Grinnell Road overflowed. The overflow was probably made worse by recent rains. Eric had recently asked Tipp City to borrow a special vactor truck to fix the problem, but the rains required the equipment sooner. Village crew tried to fix it with our jetter tool, taking 16 staff hours to realize it was inadequate. A call to Fairborn resulted in both a vactor truck and labor that resolved the problem in less than an hour. The cause of the blockage was wadded up latex/rubber gloves put into the sewer system. The estimated cost to solve the problem, depending if we get a bill from Fairborn , is between $500-$1200.

Eric provided input on a collaborative effort with Antioch College about a research project that help communities understand the importance of sustainable practices in communities and the importance of working across traditional boundaries to accomplish community goals. Depending on private non-profit funding, the effort might result in a tool kit the Village can use as we take on efforts locally to address sustainability, resources, and strategic planning.

Eric met with a representative of Community Solutions to discuss processes for land use approval at the Miller Fogg property west of the Village limits. The site as seen as a potential site for housing and the Agraria Project, but is not in the Village. Agraria is envisioned as a sustainable community with housing and agricultural uses. There was interest in putting a commercial use as part of the project. Given the discussion last time that idea was floated, it was suggested that considerable work needed to be put ahead of the effort by the proponents, otherwise it would suffer the fate of a previous proposal. It is unclear whether the proposal will move forward, as no plans have been submitted for review by the Planning Commission.

Joe Bates, John Eastman and Eric worked to provide timely response to the corrective action sought by Ohio EPA related to phosphorus levels at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The response also addressed issues of capacity planning, watershed protection, inflow problems and future needs. Since staff worked with Ohio EPA ahead of this letter, it appears that we are still in good standing with Ohio EPA and are not subject to any fines or new orders. We still have to make efforts to fix the problem in the next year.