Celina may not get project funds

CELINA - Fanning/Howey employees began surveying East Market Street this week for preliminary engineering for a waterline project planned for this summer, Celina Public Works Superintendent Joe Wolfe said.

But part of the estimated $1 million project may be in jeopardy, Celina Planning and Community Development Director Kent Bryan said.

City officials originally planned to replace the water main - from Main Street to Enterprise Street - on the north side of East Market Street, with work scheduled between Aug. 1 and Nov. 15. The water main would be replaced under the sidewalk and all curbs, gutters and sidewalks would be repaired, Bryan said.

City officials want to get that work - estimated at $800,000 and to be financed through the state Route 703 TIF - done this year because the state plans to mill and resurface the street in 2012.

However, another $200,000 part of the project, which included replacing the water main on two blocks of Logan Street from Main Street to Sugar Street, was to be funded with Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) grant money that may not be available depending on the state's budget, Bryan said.

"We're going to get all the engineering done; we're going to have it all ready to go," Bryan said about preliminary work.

The city will have to wait to see if OPWC money will be available, Bryan said. The city has been receiving about $130,000 to $140,000 in OPWC grant money each year for infrastructure projects.

Without the funding, city officials would have to decide how much of the project to pursue.

The state intends to resurface Market Street from Main Street to Enterprise Street in 2012 for $350,000, with the city picking up 20 percent of the cost. Bryan said the city's portion would be paid with OPWC money, or, if that source is not available, state highway funds allocated to the city's general fund.

In 2013, the city intends to pursue a $250,000 west Logan Street project that would extend the water main from Main to Sugar streets.

The two road projects for East Market and West Logan streets would complete a loop of improved water volume and pressure to the east side of town by connecting recently installed water mains on Main, Buckeye and Enterprise streets.

The improved volume and pressure - essential for fire mitigation - would be available for all of the businesses and homes on the east side and extend as far as Wright State University-Lake Campus, Bryan said.