The Council of the Village of Riverlea met in special session on the above date at the Circle Park in the Village. The following Council members were present: Mayor Eric A. MacGilvray, Marc J. Benevento, Scott K. Gordon, Kathy E. McClintock, Ted C. Miller, and Dan Schlichting. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, William P. Charles, Street Commissioner, and L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor. Guests of Council were Dewey Fisher, Diane Rasmussen, and Steven Orenchuk. At 7:01 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Infrastructure Maintenance Funding

The Mayor explained that the purpose of the meeting is for Council to approve the Village to seek financial assistance to re-line the sanitary sewer lines within the Village, and to install a backup power generator at the lift station. Relining the sewer lines would restore them to a “like new” condition and should eliminate the need for significant maintenance for the next 30-40 years. Roughly 25% of the lines were relined during the 2013 sanitary sewer rehabilitation. The estimated total cost of the sewer line and lift station generator projects is $513K, based on an inspection of the lines by Burgess & Niple in 2020.

There are two potential funding sources that the Village is currently exploring. Each option would be mutually exclusive, they cannot work together to fund the work.

  1. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – This application would seek federal funds and would be in the form of an 80% grant and 20% local match, which would leave the Village’s obligation at $111,000. The Mayor noted that the Village had been allocated $59,000 through the federal CARES Act and that this would cover about half of the Village’s obligation, with the rest to be covered through proceeds from the first couple of years of the Infrastructure Maintenance Levy.
  2. State Capital Improvement Program (SCIP) – This application, though the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC), would come in the form of a loan, with no grant funding. The loan would be zero interest and repaid over 30 years. If rejected for support at the district level (as is expected), the Village’s proposal may then be put forward for the OPWC’s statewide Small Government Program (SGP), where it would be structured as 50%-65% grant and 35%-50% loan. The Village would be more likely to receive funding in this second round.

The preferred outcome would be to receive the ARPA funding, with the OPWC/SGP funding as a fallback plan. The Village will know the results of the ARPA request about 45 days after submittal, and if approved will withdraw the SCIP application. Due to the deadline for the SCIP application, however, both applications must be submitted at the same time. If both applications are rejected, the Village can reapply for the SCIP loan again in 2022 or scale down the plans for immediate work.

Resolution 2021-08

Resolution 2021-08, A Resolution to Provide Local Matching Funds in Support of the Village of Riverlea’s Application for an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Grant, and to Declare an Emergency, was introduced by Gordon. Gordon moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution in order to submit the Village’s application in a timely manner. The motion passed (5-0). McClintock moved and Miller seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion passed (5-0).

Resolution 2021-09

Resolution 2021-09, A Resolution Authorizing the Mayor of the Village of Riverlea, Ohio to Seek Financial Assistance from the Ohio Public Works Commission State Capital Improvement Program (SCIP Program) for the Funding of Various Capital Infrastructure Projects, and to Declare an Emergency, was introduced by Schlichting. Schlichting moved and McClintock seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution in order to submit the Village’s application in a timely manner. The motion passed (5-0). McClintock moved and Benevento seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion passed (5-0).

Adjournment

There being no further business, Benevento moved and McClintock seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).  The meeting was adjourned at 7:16 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Eric A. MacGilvray, Mayor