SHADYSIDE — Village leaders do not plan on giving an official extension to Litman Excavating for the valve replacement project it is condiucting throughout the village.

The company did not complete the project by the March 31 deadline, which the village already had extended.

Councilman Robert “Bushwacker” Gorrell raised the subject Monday, asking if council intended to grant another extension and if members would have to take a vote.

Councilman Nick Ferrelli was opposed. Talk also turned to final payment.

“We are not giving them another extension,” Ferelli said. “It doesn’t matter anyway. The bottom line is they’re not going to be done, and then the final bill is going to be a whole ‘nother question. … We extended it to March 31. I told them: ‘Don’t count on us extending it beyond that.'”

Councilwoman Melanie Haswell asked if the village had recourse.

“When you sign something to finish it, if it’s not done then is there anything legally we can do?” she asked.

Village Attorney Tom Ryncarz noted the village has not yet fully paid Litman for the work. Ferrelli said he anticipates a disagreement over payment. Ryncarz said Litman could attempt legal action.

“I guess that’s all to be determined at some future date, because again we have not paid them in full,” he said.

Ferrelli added Litman has not provided a final bill yet. He said work to be done includes boring under the railroad track to run a new line from the water treatment plant to the wells, as well as work on the inside of the water treatment plant.

Afterward, Ferrelli said the boring was expected to have been done two months ago, but there have been apparent scheduling issues with the railroad.

Ferrelli said there were also issues with the design of the water plant. He said the chlorine treatments were to be switched from gas to liquid and the fluoride system redesigned. Ferrelli said he and Councilman Sam Carpino learned there were flaws in the plan.

“It was all wrong,” he said. “The whole thing was a bad design from the beginning.”

He said the original plan called for the use of two 15-gallon chlorine tanks, which were insufficient for the village’s needs.

“They would have to be filled every 30 hours, give or take, so we would constantly, every day have to have a delivery of chlorine brought in,” he said.

A 550-gallon chlorine tank was then planned, but it would not fit through the door. Ferrelli said the village could use two 250-gallon tanks instead, but this would also need to be approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

“You’ve got to have it figured up by an engineer, then the EPA’s got to approve it, then you’ve got to actually get the tanks,” Ferrelli said, adding they must factor in available tanks and how long it will take to get them. “Us not extending it isn’t going to change the fact that they’re not going to get it done, but just as a matter of principle we’re not going to extend it.”

Mayor Bob Newhart commented on the situation, adding the total cost was projected at more than $1 million.

“It’s been a problem since Day 1, just the whole project in general,” he said. “They said they were going to be done in December, and here it is going into May and we’re still not done.”

He added that the village does not expect to be penalized by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

“The EPA’s been very accommodating,” he said.

Litman did not respond to a request for comment.

In other matters, people wishing to be on the agenda to speak at a village council meeting may pick up a form between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Fridays at the village office, 50 E. 39th St. The phone number is 740-676-5972.