Meetings Move Water Project Forward
The second public hearing meeting is set for Tuesday in Fairview
FAIRVIEW – Over 40 residents attended a meeting at the Pennyroyal Opera House in Fairview on June 5. The meeting was the first of two required for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding that planners are seeking to assist low- to moderate-income residents to help pay for a water project for the Fairview and Hendrysburg communities.
Pam Ewing of the nonprofit development organization Great Lake Community Action Partnership told attendees Fairview residents have completed income surveys and will be eligible for assistance to pay for tap fees and expenses.
Letters were recently sent to Hendrysburg and Belmont County residents, Ewing said, and it is critical the forms are completed and returned before a July1 grant deadline. Sixteen of letters were returned “addressee unknown”, however.
For anyone who did not receive a survey, hard copies are available at the Barnesville Municipal Building, or they will be available at the second meeting that will take place this coming Tuesday at the Pennyroyal Opera House. The meeting will get underway at 7:00.
If the Belmont County portion of the project area is also determined a “low- to moderate-income” population, $1.5 million could help homeowners pay for their portion of the project.
A four-page handout, “Answers to Frequently Asked Questions: Barnesville North Waterline Extension Project Public Meetings”, distributed at the June 5 meeting, will also be available Tuesday night.
Attending the June 5 meeting was Chris Hunt of Hunt Engineering, engineer of record for the project. Hunt is well-informed on the need for the water project. His firm’s work for the Village of Fairview over the past decade has resulted in a sanitary sewer system for the small village.
If successful, a $5.5-million project will bring public water to an area that has longed for adequate, safe drinking water.
Funding will include A Water Supply Loan through the Ohio EPA, H2Ohio funds, a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and a combination of CDBG and Residential Public Infrastructure (RPIG) funds that both Belmont and Guernsey County commissioners are seeking.
“This is an EPA priority project,” Ewing said, noting time is of the essence if the project is to happen.
Also attending the meeting were public officials from the two counties including Fairview Mayor Cameron McConnell, Fairview Fiscal Officer Holly Olsen and Guernsey Commissioner Dave Wilson.
Belmont County officials present included Richard Myser, Barnesville village solicitor, Tim McKelvey and Les Tickhill of Barnesville council, Larry Merry, Belmont County Port Authority director and Kirkwood Township Trustee Tim Lara.
If it all goes as planned, water will flow north from Barnesville to eager new customers in 2027 following a 14- to 18-month construction period.
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