Hendrysburg, Fairview Water Project Gains Ground

Mt. Olivet loop may be included

Efforts dating back 40 years by residents of Hendrysburg and Fairview to obtain water service may finally be nearing an end.  

During a Barnesville Council work session meeting on Tuesday, January 21, a major step forward in a proposed project to extend public water service to the communities of Hendrysburg and Fairview was achieved.

Attending the meeting were three council members – Tony Johnson, Les Tickhill, and Robin Misner along with Mayor Jake Hershberger and Village Administrator Roger Deal. Others participating were Belmont County Commissioner J.P. Dutton, Pam Ewing of Great Lakes Community Action (RECAP), an advocate for rural water systems; and Chris Hunt of Hunt Engineering, LLC, who has been under contract with the Village of Fairview for the past twelve years helping the community pursue public water service and install a sewerage collection system for the small Guernsey County community.

Taking part in the discussion by phone was Maggie Selbe, asset management and funding specialist of the Ohio EPA’s Southeast Office in Logan

Others attending the meeting included Belmont County Port Authority Director Larry Merry and local developer T.J. Jefferis.

Ewing shared that the extension project is high on the list for the Ohio EPA due to public health and safety issues experienced by residents of the two villages who get their water from wells.

Ewing is working with a handful of public funding sources that she hopes will allow for the project to be totally paid without the need for any local funds. Commissioner Dutton also shared that the county has a pending request for federal funding.

Needed from Barnesville is for the village to be the lead applicant for the project as the local water source is the only logical one for either community.

Barnesville officials asked that the “Mt. Olivet Loop” be included in the project. That long-desired project would add another three dozen residences and a couple of businesses on a line that will connect the current line that ends north of Olivet and the line along Route 800 that ends on Route 800 just south of the Interstate.

Ewing and the EPA’s Selbe recommended adding the Mt. Olivet loop to the project as a Phase II component.

Ewing and Hunt attended the January 27 village council meeting speaking to the whole board.  While council took no immediate action, a Resolution prepared by Village Solicitor Richard Myser will be considered at Monday night’s meeting. Resolution #4002 “authorizes the Mayor of the Village of Barnesville to apply for, accept, and enter into a Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA) Agreement on behalf of the Village of Barnesville  to design a waterline extension to Hendrysburg, Fairview and Mt. Olivet.”

Also on the agenda Monday is a budget for the project prepared by Hunt Engineering.  

When asked about the timeline for the project, Ewing said the project, if funded, is projected to begin in the fall of 2026 and take 18 months to complete.

Other January 27 Council Action

In other action on January 27, council voted 5-0 to suspend rules approving two ordinances, one to amend the annual appropriations to cover the expenses of the anticipated paving grant and a second one to increase uniform allowances for village employees.

On a 4-1 vote with council president Tony Johnson voting in the negative, council authorized Deal to spend up to $30,000 for a newer truck to replace the current 2003 Chevrolet used by village departments.

Councilmember Terry McCort was absent from the meeting.

A pay ordinance of $114,003. 42 was approved as was a raw water contract extension of 12-months with the fracking firm Antero. That firm currently pays $6.50 per thousand gallons for untreated water.

A discussion took place regarding placing “no swimming” and “no ice fishing” signs at village reservoirs, but no action was taken. Last month an ice fisherman fell through the ice and had to be rescued by EMS personnel and others.  A resident in attendance spoke out against posting the signage.   

Questions regarding the potential set back of less than the required 10 feet along an alley on N. Chestnut Street was discussed with the Leach family, owners of Barnesville Vision Center. First, a new survey will take place for an exact determination of property line and new building location before a “variance” is considered.