FUTURE PLANS — At Thursday’s Wintersville Council meeting, Village Administrator Jesse Kosegi discussed future plans, including pavement of several city streets. -- Warren Scott

WINTERSVILLE — On Thursday, Village Administrator Jesse Kosegi discussed with Wintersville Council plans to pave several streets with hopes next year of resurfacing a major roadway some feel is overdue.

Kosegi said W.E. Quicksall and Associates, the village’s engineering consultant, will be accepting bids this month for the paving of the following streets: Rex, Russell and Patton avenues, Day Circle, Simpson Road and Woodridge Drive from Simpson to Eisenhower Road.

The cost for the paving has been estimated at $273,000, of which about $140,000 will be funded by a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission.

Plans call for the paving to be done in the fall.

Kosegi said curbs, manholes and drainage structures along the roads will be checked for any damages and repaired before the paving is done.

He also advised council he will seek additional funds from the OPWC to pave Cadiz Road next year.

Mayor Mike Petrella said that project is overdue, the road having been last resurfaced in 2004, while noting the cost to pave the mile-long stretch of multi-lane highway was estimated at $750,000 a few years ago.

Kosegi said village crews recently sealed cracks along the roadway as a stopgap measure.

He said pending available funding, he hopes also to include replacement of the flashing School Zone lights for nearby Indian Creek High School in the project.

Kosegi said Cara Place and Sam’s Way also are on his radar for future paving.

Following the meeting, the village administrator confirmed that crews with Border Patrol have begun the Phase 6 sewer project, which is expected to involve repairs or replacement to about 7,500 linear feet of sewer lines in the village’s northwest corner.

Funded with a $2,019,500 loan from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the project also will include major renovations to pump stations near Cara Place, Powell Lane, Luray Drive and the Jefferson County Industrial Park; installation of five new manholes and rehabilitation of 52 existing ones.

Kosegi said crews with Core and Main of Ashland, Ohio, are expected in July to install about 1,600 new water meters that can be read electronically using an antenna placed on the village’s water tower.

He said a $950,000 loan was secured from the OPWC for the project, and the village must complete it by Dec. 31.

Water customers with indoor meters will have them replaced with ones outside, and a representative of the village and Core and Main will visit each customer to schedule an installation.

The new meters are expected to save the village money in wages paid for the meters to be read over a period of days and to facilitate customers’ ability to pay their bills online.

On Thursday, council agreed to raise hourly pay for the village’s summer help, from $9.20 to $12, at the request of Petrella, who suggested it would be more comparable with wages offered by other municipalities.

He and Kosegi advised the village expected to hire two summer employees to work 24 hours a week performing such tasks as grass cutting and park cleanups.

Councilman Carmen DeStefano suggested the summer workers be required to undergo drug testing, as full-time staff are. Petrella said later those who are 18 and older will be, but the legalities of the village testing minors will need to be explored.

Council also approved the third reading for the adoption of a $5,042,920 budget for the village.

For her efforts in preparing the budget, council members thanked Melanie Smith, a visting clerk with the state auditor’s office who assumed the role of the village’s fiscal officer following the departure of the previous one.

Kosegi said the village is in the process of interviewing applicants for the position, adding the individual selected may provide more assistance to village staff with such tasks as utility billing.

The village administrator said moving forward, he’s looking into ways to cut its expenses, including purchasing gasoline for its vehicles in bulk. He noted the village makes bulk purchases to fill a 550 gallon tank of diesel fuel at the street department.

Petrella also announced the recent opening of five new businesses: Scent Shack Candles, Timages Photography, Tobacco and Vape, Clear Creek Coffee and Sonny Boy’s. He and others noted the latter is a restaurant that has moved into the former Kings Restaurant, employing many of its staff.