There were two open seats on the Village Council that were filled at a special meeting on February 1. The two new members are Patsy Puff and Kelli Miller. The terms for these two seats end 12/31/2013.
Please welcome them to our Council.
Bob Wells
Here is a summary of where we are:
Water mains – all have been finished and laterals run out to houses ready for hooking up.
Treatment plant – roof is on and interior painting is almost finished. Electrician is running conduit and pulling wiring. Backup generator has arrived and is in place. The three wells are all connected to the plant and pumps installed. Water and sewer lines to North Street are done.
Water tower – foundations installed and tower connected to rest of system. The entire water tower has been delivered and ready for welding. Erection of tower should begin about end of next week. After tower is completed, the interior needs to be painted with a special type of paint. This requires that the temperature be at least 40 degrees for a minimum of 14 days. (Pray for early spring!) This will be the last major item that will need to be finished before we can “go live”.
Bob Wells
With the installation of the service laterals nearly completed, many of you would like to start installing the service into your residence. Here are some things to consider:
1. The home owner is responsible for the water service from the meter to the house. Leaks on that side of the meter will cost you money in higher water charges. Plan well and use quality materials. Get professional help if you do not feel comfortable doing the work yourself.
2. The OEPA requires backflow perventers for all commercial buildings, schools, and churches. These devices are typically installed inside the building to prevent freezing and to facilitate the required annual inspection and testing.
3. Backflow preventers are NOT required for residences. However, if your residence has a boiler for hot water heating or a lawn sprinkle system, then the backflow preventer is required.
4. The choice of water line is either copper or plastic. The size of the service line for residences is 3/4 inch. The contractor has installed a length of 3/4 inch soft copper line out of the back of the meter pit for the house connection. Copper is substantially more expensive than plastic. Copper is considered to be more durable. If you elect to use plastic, use 200 PSI with a trace wire attached to the copper line at the meter pit. This will help in locating the water line in years to come. The minimum depth should be 36 inches. The deeper the line, the less likely it is to freeze during the winter. (The water mains are at least 48 inches below grade.)
5. Please document with a drawing and dimensions where you install your line. Digital pictures of the trench prior to backfilling would a great help, also. The village will keep all of this information in a file at the water office for future reference. We have been using the sewer file quite frequently for determining where sewer lines were installed 30 years ago. Remember, you will not be living at your present location forever. Some future owner will be grateful to you for leaving this information.
6. You have the option of keeping your well for outside watering. This will require a total seperation of the municpal water from your well water. This will be inspected at the time your water service is connected. If you elect to not use your well for outside watering, the well is considered abandoned and must be properly remediated. Professional plumbers can assist you in doing this.
If you have any questions, please call me or contact a professional plumber.
Bob Wells
Dan Merkel, a long-time friend of mine, shares a common interest with me, namely railroads, both model and full sized. Dan is the author of Along the Right of Way in the Virtual Village on The Courier’s web page. If you are interested in railroading, it is a nice source of information and pictures.
The article that Dan posted this week quotes a column published many years ago by Mr. R.L. Hemminger. This excerpt is regarding Big Four which ran through Vanlue from Findlay to Carey:
On Dec. 29, 1931, an application was filed at Washington for authority to abandon the Big Four Railroad between Findlay and Vanlue, as well as the Belt Line connection between the Big Four and the Nickel Plate (originally the Lake Erie and Western, and now the Norfolk-Southern.) The application was filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission. “Public convenience and necessity no longer justifies operation of the lines,” said the petition.
THE OHIO PUBLIC UTILITIES Commission held a hearing at Columbus March 22 on the abandonment matter.
Both the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Ohio Public Utilities Commission granted the applications.
So the link to Findlay was removed, but the Carey connection remained in place until the mid 60’s. The railroad property from Buffalo Street east remained in limbo until a few years ago. Tom Walter purchased the old right of way from Buffalo all the way to the eastern end in Carey. He very graciously donated the portion from Buffalo to East Street to the Village.
Bob Wells
Vanlue News