County gets $7M in grants for utility work
NEWARK — Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was not dressed as Santa Claus, but he did bring Christmastime gifts to Newark and southwestern Licking County officials Wednesday when he awarded more than $7 million in infrastructure grants.
The city of Newark and Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District have been waiting a long time to make needed but costly utility improvements to benefit east Newark and corporate parks in Pataskala and Etna Township.
That all changed when Husted visited Newark City Council chambers to award $3.5 million to the city for a 3mile water line loop from New Haven Avenue to Dayton Road and $4.17 million to Southwest Licking for sanitary sewer service to Pataskala Corporate Park and the northern part of Etna Township Corporate Park.
Rick Platt, president and CEO of the Heath-newark-licking County Port Authority and a member of the Jobsohio board of directors, said, “This was the right place to bring a big check, so thank you for that.”
The impact of the Newark utility improvements may extend beyond the city limits, allowing for a future 5-mile water line extension from Dayton Road to the villages of Marne and Hanover. Eastern Licking County has arsenic in its well water
Husted said the Ohio Builds grants could not address every water and wastewater need in the state, so a Department of Development process evaluated projects based on need and being “shovel ready.” Every county received at least one grant.
“We had many more applications than we had resources, no doubt about that,” Husted said. “We ask are they ready to move dirt and get the project going? Those who prepare for these opportunities will benefit the most.
“The governor and I appreciate the collaborative spirit in this county. I do believe there is going to be a great opportunity for growth. There’s a great need and an immediate return on investment.”
Grow Licking County Executive Director Alexis Fitzsimmons said, “This is a really exciting time for Licking County. The county has really prepared itself to accept funds like this through it’s proactive planning. The momentum we’ve seen in Licking County has been significant.”
Newark Utilities Superintendent Roger Loomis said the northeast water line loop has already been designed and work can begin in the spring or summer, taking about six months to a year to complete.
“This came out of a 2002 needs assessment,” Loomis said.
Mayor Jeff Hall said the project will help boost economic development, improve water quality and fire protection in east Newark and to allow for water extension to eastern Licking County.
The city is negotiating an agreement to provide water to Marne, Hanover and Hanover Township as part of a newlycreated Licking Valley Water District. Marne is located about two miles east of the former Longaberger basket building on the eastern edge of Newark. The intersection of High Street and Hickman Road in Hanover’s business district is about five miles from the basket building.
“Infrastructure is government’s duty, but we always have projects we can’t fund,” Hall said. “Until we get the loop project done, we can’t do the extension to Hanover. We kind of take fresh water for granted. We just turn the faucet on, but there’s a lot of work behind that. Well water can work fine but presents problems at times.”
Loomis recently told city council the city has a treatment capability of 15 million gallons a day, and uses 7.5 million gallons per day. The extension to Hanover would provide less than one-half million gallons, he said. The safe yield from the Licking River is about 22 million gallons per day.
The project in southwestern Licking County will extend sanitary sewer west from Etna Parkway along Refugee Road, north and south of Refugee Road along Etna Parkway and from a proposed pump station to National Road.
Pataskala Corporate Park was completed in 2012 and designated a Job Ready Site, but has not had sanitary sewer service.
Rob Platte, vice president of the Southwest Licking water board, said 1,100 acres in the corporate parks area will benefit, as well as areas outside the corporate parks.
“This addresses a 10-year hindrance to development of Pataskala Corporate Park,” Platte said. “We’ve had a decade of businesses looking at the Pataskala area and saying there’s a lot of infrastructure that still has to take place, and business was lost to other states.
“It allows this area to fully develop, which hasn’t happened. This is an awesome opportunity. Areas five miles north of this will flow into this, should they want to. There are benefits that are kind of unknown.”
The state awarded more than $109 million to help fund critical water projects as part of the third and final round of grants awarded through the new Ohio BUILDS water infrastructure grant program. The money will support 101 drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects impacting 106 communities. kmallett@newarkadvocate.com 740-973-4539
Twitter: @kmallett1958