Mingo Junction wastewater facility new and improved
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MINGO JUNCTION -- The chief operator of the Mingo Junction Wastewater Department gave a multimedia presentation to the village council on Tuesday, in which he detailed improvements the facility had undergone, making it essentially "brand new."
Kyle Moffat showed photos and video of the facility's four buildings, covering the various wastewater processing machines and the cloud-based technology used to monitor and adjust them from any location. Moffat described technical challenges he faced, dealing with improperly installed equipment, and the improvements he orchestrated to overcome those challenges, as well as the new equipment installed to make the facility run more smoothly.
Subjects in the presentation included the facility's grit equalization building; brand new raw pumps, aerators, skimmers and diffusers; bypass valves and computer system. Referencing a picture of the bisulfite tank, the last processing step for wastewater before it empties into Cross Creek, Moffat invited council members to observe the clean water, which he said he can see five feet down into.
Additionally, Moffat noted that the facility is allowed a minimum 85 percent removal efficiency, though he strives to go above and beyond for the sake of Cross Creek. The facility clocked a 98.99 percent removal efficiency that day, Moffat said, adding, "I'm way more than better."
Moffat's improvements to the facility, he said, are thanks to the support of the village council and Village Administrator Bob Smith, who commented that the village's water department has been similarly improved.
Moffat said two placards are mounted in the wastewater facility -- one from 1959 in the original building and another from 1987 when the facility saw a major renewal. Now, Moffat said, a new placard should be added with the current administration's names on it.
"It's done. It's fixed. It's time to dedicate," Moffat said.
Members of council gave their consent for Moffat to move forward with purchasing the placard with funds from the department's incidental fund.
Separately, Smith said in his report that he has received four or five quotes for concrete work at the village's pool in Aracoma Park. He expressed the desire to have the work started as soon as possible, including the replacement of the pool's main pump for as much as $39,000 and another pump and its cradle for around $16,000, with the desire to have the pool be "brand new" by the time his contract with the village ends.
Smith said also that the company Ewusiak Development would like the land at 1900 Commercial St. rezoned from I-2 industrial to B-3 business. Smith said he would like to have that change made quickly so as not to delay any development that company would like to start.
However, that zoning change would need to go through the village's zoning committee, which expired in 2021 and had two deceased members on its list.
In other business:
• The council announced that Mingo Junction's light-up night will be on Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. in the green space next to the city building.
• The council gave an update on the possible vacation of Elizabeth Street, referencing a meeting on Friday during which council members visited the property in question.
Council member Adam Peeler said the council's general consensus is that it is in the village's best interest to maintain the public right-of-way to retain access to the village's utility easements and ensure that property owners retain access to the rear of the properties. If the street is vacated to an adjoining property owner, one could potentially block off access and "land-lock" the other property owners, Peeler said.
• Police Chief Willie McKenzie III and representatives of the law enforcement technology development company Axon spoke with council members about the village police department's proposed plan for purchasing new body cameras. The council gave McKenzie permission to run the purchase by Kimberly Crugnale, deputy auditor, to see if the roughly $30,000 camera system with a five-year payment plan can be paid out from the department's drug enforcement fund.
• Council member Jack Brettell suggested the council pass an ordinance limiting residents to only three trash cans before they need to contract a proper dumpster. His suggestion was spurred on by his observation that residents were lining streets with rubbish and overloading the village's packer truck.
• The council did its first reading of Ordinance 2023-17, "authorizing the mayor to execute a click-claim deed, transferring three parcels of vacated public right-of-ways of the Altamont subdivision as provided in ordinance 2023-2."
• Council member Jodilynn Fitzgerald said renewing the village's current insurance plan with Aetna, at a monthly cost of $29,456.94, would result in a nearly 40 percent price increase. On the other hand, she said, a separate -- and most comparable -- proposed plan with Aetna would cost $31,191.78 per month.
Fitzgerald said the village's insurance plan is self-funded, meaning the village pays greatly into its employees' healthcare, making up a large difference in copays for the employees. With the village entering contract negotiations for three years, Fitzgerald speculated on how the village could handle negotiations while being unsure of the direction of insurance, which is for only one year.