Hoytville eyes contract for extended waterlines

9/1/2004

HOYTVILLE, Ohio - After years of trying to get water to this southwestern Wood County community, village council is close to finalizing a water agreement with the Northwestern Water and Sewer District.

Village council Monday night asked its attorney to review the contract. The water project would service about 100 homes and McComb Middle School, which is in Hoytville.

"We're very excited. We're very happy about this," Mayor Kelly Carpenter said.

She said local wells are tainted with sulfur.

"A lot of homes have treatment systems but that's just a Band-Aid. It still stinks," she said. "One of the main complaints the kids have when they go to the junior high in Hoytville is it stinks."

Jerry Greiner, executive director of the water and sewer district, said his board approved the Hoytville agreement earlier this month. He anticipates it will take 12 to 18 months for Hoytville to line up the necessary funding to get the project done.

Financing is expected to come in part from community development block grants distributed through county commissioners, Ohio Public Works Issue II small community grants, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which helps finance utility projects for areas based on demographics, including income levels.

Mr. Greiner said extending waterlines 7.5 miles farther than the district's nearest waterline means more residents in southwestern Wood County will have access to water.

"It opens up a nice door for both of us," he said.

The district recently completed water projects in the villages of Rudolph and Jerry City. The Jerry City project included extension of waterlines to the new Elmwood school campus on Jerry City Road just east of the village.

Mr. Greiner said before the district decides which route to lay the waterline to Hoytville, it likely would schedule a public meeting for residents in the area to gauge interest from property owners along the way who might want to tap into the line.