Thursday, May 26th, 2016
New traffic light, water tower to be ready in fall
By William Kincaid
CELINA - Two major projects - a new traffic light and a new water tower - should be operational this fall, city administrators said this week.
City council members in December unanimously passed legislation to install a traffic signal, estimated to cost at least $150,000, at the busy intersection of Havemann Road and the access drive between Walmart and Menards. The light should be functioning by November, safety service director Tom Hitchcock said.
Mayor Jeff Hazel this morning said a traffic engineer will design the light, including wiring, mast arms and a control box. The city will then put the project out for bids.
"If it could come back at $120,000, I'd be happy," he said.
City officials must determine whether to synch the new traffic light with the one farther down Havemann Road to ensure a good flow of traffic, he said.
"The challenge will be not to back traffic up any more than we absolutely have to," he said.
The light will be funded through the electric fund, which Hazel said has an adequate balance to cover the expense.
The city's engineering department led a 16-hour traffic study of the intersection. The study, according to Hitchcock, supported warrant No. 2 of the state manual: four-hour vehicle volume.
During four-hour periods on an average day, the total traffic on Haveman Road in both directions and the number of vehicles per hour on the access road meet state requirements, according to the study.
Also, a new 1-million-gallon water tower being completed in the Grand Lake Industrial Park east of Celina should be operational in October, Hitchcock said this week. Though from the outside the tower looks complete, internal electrical and other work won't be finished for another few months.
Once given the green light by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the tower will become operational, Hazel said.
The city's board of controls awarded a $2.27 million contract to Landmark Structures to erect the tower and a $15,760 contract to Iseler Demolition Inc. to raze the 250,000-gallon tower on Grand Lake Road. The tower on Grand Lake Road, which serves all of Celina's industrial and retail areas near Havemann Road as well as homes and other properties near state Route 703 to the Wright State University-Lake Campus in Jefferson Township, should be down by the end of the year, Hazel said.
When coupled with the 1.5-million-gallon water tower on Summit Street, built for $1.8 million in 2005, the new tower will greatly enhance water volume and pressure, according to Hazel.
"The new tank also will ... provide adequate water for fire protection and periods of service interruption and provide capacity to meet future increases in water demand," an OEPA news release states.
Celina will own the tower. Mercer County officials in 1962 agreed to have the current tower constructed as part of an East Jefferson Township water system. The city, under contract, has maintained the system since then.
The city is financing the project with a $1 million zero-interest OEPA loan, which will be paid back over 20 years. All other funds, including repayment of the loan, will come from the water account and the Staeger Road Tax Increment Financing District, which has a balance of about $1 million, Hazel said.
