Huber Heights puts your taxes to work
Officials update the progress on efforts such as the city water softening project and repairs to the water tower.
One of the biggest concerns residents have every year is how their tax dollars are being spent. Projects taking place within the city are listed on the website (www. hhoh.org) and updated as information becomes available. Here is where your tax dollars are at work in Huber Heights:
■ The Harshmanville Road Water Main Replacement Project started last month and includes the replacement of the existing six-inch cast iron water mains located on the streets listed below. The affected roadways have already been sawcut on each side of the water main trench prior to the excavation. The contractor is Outdoor Enterprises and they began actual excavation at the beginning of February. The existing mains were installed in the late 1960s and have deteriorated tremendously over time. The soils in this area have been found to be corrosive and at that time, the pipe was installed and backfilled using this same soilThere have been numerous water main breaks in this area over the last 10 years and most of the breaks have shown to be large holes in the pipe where the pipe was extremely thin and brittle. The work for this project consists of the installation of 3,925 LF of new water main. The pipe will include a zinc coating to protect the new ductile iron pipe from the corrosive soil. The main size will increase from six inches to eight inches in diameter to meet current AWWA/ industry standards for water quality and fire protection. Along with the new pipe, 22 new watermain valves, seven new fire hydrants, 67 one-inch tap connections and the restoration of pavement/turf areas that are disturbed by the project. Budget: $800,000
■ The water tower located on Stonehurst Drive will be repaired and repainted over the next three months by Worldwide Industries and inspected by Nelson Tank Engineering & Consulting. The water tower is a 1,500,000-gallon standpipe originally constructed in 1976. The tower is 104 feet tall and was last painted in 2004. The interior and exterior repairs include an abrasive blast cleaning, pit welding, and painting. Budget: $450,000
■ The City Water Softening project is currently in its ninth month of construction upgrades to the Water Treatment Plant on Rip Rap Road for the addition of a membrane filtering system which will be used to provide softened water to the entire community and is still on schedule for completion in June or July of this year. After the initial system start-up, it will then take approximately two to three months to reach the full desired softening level. The exterior of the building is near completion and all of the filters have been installed. Also, the new well is near completion and the new generator is scheduled to be installed this month. Most of the work left includes piping and pump installations, site work, plumbing, electrical, and finish work on the building. Once this project is completed, softened water will be supplied to all residents. The water will be softened to a level of 120 to 130 mg/l (7 to 8 grains per gallon), which is slightly lower than the levels in the water provided by the Dayton and Montgomery County systems. Budget: $10,000,000
■ Upgrades to the traffic signals from the current wire supports to pole and mast arm supports are taking place at intersection of Brandt Pike and Chambersburg Road. The project was designed by The Kleingers Group and placed out for bid last fall. Bansal Construction was the chosen contractor awarded the project last September. Since that time, they have submitted shop drawings for all of the materials that will be used on the project. The materials were ordered with a three-month waiting period for the delivery and the contractor is scheduled to begin work at the beginning of April. The project should take approximately 2-3 months to complete (weather permitting). Budget: $475,000