Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann says that the Ohio Department of Development for the Community Development Block Grant funds will be used to waive tap in fees for residents who don’t have access to water in the unincorporated areas. (T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA)

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Belmont County Board of Commissioners approved the grant agreement between it and the Ohio Department of Development for the Community Development Block Grant program $750,000 during Wednesday’s regular meeting.

The grant will aid in the extension of public water service to the unincorporated areas of Mount Olivett and Hendrysburg.

Commissioner Vince Gianangeli said that the improvements will be completed in conjunction with the project in the village of Fairview in Guernsey County.

The estimated cost of the project was given as $5.5 million in March 2025. In addition to the $750,00 the project has previously received funds from the Appalachian Regional Commission and Water Supply Revolving Loan Fund Account and H2Ohio funding, which are both Ohio EPA programs.

Commissioner Jerry Echemann said that the grant was required to run through the board’s office which is why it had to pass the motion.

He added that the $750,000 will waive tap-in fees for residents who don’t have access to water in the unincorporated areas.

“Our plan for this is to waive tap-in fees for these people over there in the Hendrysburg

area once everything gets laid and and it’s time to tap into the water lines because a tap-in fee can be a lot of money,” Echemann said. “They’ve had it rough enough out there without any water for so long.”

The project will supply roughly 184 water hookups.

“Not everyone will get the free tap-in. It has to be a low to moderate income kind of thing, but I think the vast majority of folks out there would qualify income wise to receive the free tap-in fee,” Echemann said. “I’m told a tapping fee can be 2,000, 2,500 bucks, so it’s not cheap. So this will definitely help.”

He added that there’s no estimated

completion date for the project as of now.

“These things tend to drag out a long time – not just this project but many others like it. And we’re still kind of in the early stages of getting all of the money lined up and everything,” Echemann said. “Someone will have to sit down and draw out all of these plans on where these lines are going to go and how it’s going to run. So I hate very much to give an estimated completion date, because I’m just not sure.”

During the meeting’s open public forum Belmont County Health Board president and Belmont County Commissioner candidate Dominic DeFelice asked the commissioners if they and the Health Board could set up a walkthrough of the future Belmont County Health Department building.

​​The Health Department, Belmont County Coroner and a facility to store all of the county’s records will all be located at the new building.

“I want to commend the commissioners on the new health department building. We have a meeting Monday with the whole board. I thought that would be a good opportunity to do a walkthrough and or photo with both commissioners and our board to get some good publicity for you guys for your hard work,” DeFelice said.

Echemann said the commissioners have spoken about wanting to do a walkthrough by themself then with the Health Board.

“I think sooner or later, it’s going to happen. We have discussed this as a board, and kind of came to the conclusion that the commissioners would like to do an initial walk through just on our own, and then go there with you guys,” he said.