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Harrison County awarded more than $900K in grants

T-L Photo/CARRI GRAHAM Commissioner Paul Coffland, left, reads the agreement between the state of Ohio and the commissioners on behalf of the village of Harrisville during Wednesday’s meeting. The village has been awarded $437,900 through the Community Development Block Grant program for upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant.

CADIZ — Two villages in the county have secured more than $900,000 in grant funding for infrastructure improvement projects through the Community Development Block Grant program.

The Harrison County Board of Commissioners signed two separate agreements Wednesday morning — one for the village of Harrisville and the other for the village of Scio.

Harrisville has been awarded $437,900 through the Critical Infrastructure Program for the necessary upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant which will cover the majority of the estimated $587,880 project, Commissioner Paul Coffland said. The county will provide the remaining $150,000.

“This deals with correcting some issues with their wastewater treatment collection system, and because it’s CDBG it has to run through the county,” he added.

The project includes the replacement of the UV disinfection unit, installation of a screen to prevent trash from entering the system, and to address inflow and infiltration issues.

The treatment plant has had numerous issues since it was made operational in 2015.

In the past few years, the village has had to replace the original light duty mixer pumps with heavy pumps, and the control computers and filter cloths because of failure.

Additionally, trash and debris entering the system have caused ongoing operational issues, according to the project description.

The upgrades to the plant will benefit 260 people.

The second project to receive state funding was Scio for improvements to its wastewater facility. The village was awarded $489,100 through the Critical Infrastructure Program. The total project cost is estimated at $543,530. The village will contribute matching funds of $54,430.

According to the project’s description, the treatment plant’s equipment is “past its useful life and parts are constantly needing to be replaced.” Because of these issues, e. coli and suspended solids have been detected in nearby waters.

The project includes the installation of a new clarifier and two new generators; and will benefit more than 800 people in the community.

Coffland and fellow Commissioners Don Bethel and Dale Norris unanimously approved the agreements.

In other matters, commissioners went into executive session to discuss personnel matters with Department of Job and Family Services Director Scott Blackburn and Assistant Director Deb Knight. After a brief session, Coffland said “no action was taken” on the matter.

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