MILFORD - Work on Milford's water tower, and the recent passing of Utilities Superintendent Dallas Winchester, were two of the items on the agenda at Monday's council meeting.
Jim Clevenger, of Dixon Engineering, addressed the council regarding his company's inspection of the completed project.
"I can tell you that the project is done. Both the work on the inside of the tank and the outside work are done. The overcoat on the outside is done, as well as some miscellaneous repairs to our satisfaction. That's the good news, I guess," he said. "The bad news is that it's been a struggle to get there. It's back in service and it's doing what it's supposed to do."
The work involved outside cleaning of the tower structure with a high pressure wash, and a new coating on the tank's interior, plus some repairs.
The project took longer than Dixon Engineering originally estimated, by about 27 to 28 days. The original completion date was scheduled for Nov. 7, but was not finished until Dec. 6.
The contractor for the work, Fedewa, out of Michigan, is supposed to be charged $500 per day in liquidation charges for every day over the scheduled completion date.
Clevenger did say that some days for bad weather, and extra inspection days, will be factored into the time overage and cost, but all of the final paperwork is not yet completed.
In order to keep pressure in the system while the tank was empty, hydrants had to be opened and allowed to run continually. With the tank now full, the pressure will be back to normal, but some discoloration of water has been noticed by a few residents. This is normal because the water flow direction was changed during the work and is now back to the regular flow pattern.
"We'll get all the final paperwork put together," Clevenger said. "The water loss needs to be addressed, and in my opinion, they need to be held responsible for going over the contract date."
The council also will look into whether or not the cost of running the system without the tower can be included in the final numbers for the project.
The council announced one person has expressed interest in the position of utilities superintendent, left vacant by the death of Winchester.
Randy Veach has taken over most of Winchester's wastewater duties, and other department heads and town employees have also put in extra effort to cover other areas of the utilities department as needed.
The council did decide not to advertise further for a new utilities superintendent at this time, and will revisit the issue after the first of the year.
In a related matter, Elizabeth "Libby" Winchester has temporarily resigned her duties with the town.
The council approved a resolution making Milford part of the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Kosciusko County and several other communities are already a part of this, which is part of a FEMA resolution designed to bring federal disaster relief funds and grants to communities.
