Wintersville gets salt rate
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WINTERSVILLE -- The village will be paying more per ton for road salt this year, but not as much as it could have, thanks to the efforts of Jefferson County Engineer Eric Hilty.
Members of Village Council heard during Thursday’s meeting that, by working with Hilty and several other communities in the county, they will pay $123 per ton from an outside supplier. That means the village’s cost for its projected 900 tons for the coming winter season will total $110,700.
If the village had accepted the bid offered by the Ohio Department of Transportation, the cost for the season would have been $139,800, Mayor Mike Petrella said.
The cost of salt has been a concern for local communities since they received numbers from ODOT that represented a significant increase from what they had paid in the past. Local communities also have questioned why municipalities in this region had been hit with large increases while communities just north of here saw a very slight increase.
That prompted Hilty to assemble a group of area communities that went in with the county to obtain a bulk buy of road salt.
Council President Randy Spence, meanwhile, said he had talked with officials from the U.S. Postal Service about concerns from village residents who had received their water bills late, in a mangled condition or not at all. He said postal officials told him they would look into the issue.
In the meantime, village residents were reminded that if they do not receive their water bill in a timely manner, they can contact the water department to receive the amount they owe to ensure their bill is paid on time. Village Administrator Jesse Kosegi added that, if they have not done so, residents can arrange for electronic billing and payment, which eliminates the need for a bill to be mailed and for residents to return the payment to the Village Building.
Kosegi reminded council members that they likely will have to take a hard look at utility rates in the coming months, adding that the EPA will no longer issue loans to municipalities unless they demonstrate they will have the resources to repay the money.
Currently, the village buys its water through Jefferson County, which purchases water from Toronto’s municipal system. Petrella said county officials told him they had not finished negotiations with Toronto and were not able to tell them what the village’s new rate would be.
Kyle Ayres, a representative with TGS, gave council members an update on his company’s plans to produce underground geological maps of a 60-square-mile area that includes the village. The maps are critical to the work of oil and gas companies that might be interested in horizontal drilling in the region, Ayres and other representatives told council during its June 4 meeting.
He said the company plans to contact residents in the areas where it wants to bury small sensors that are essential to the project. Village officials will be contacted before TGS begins to approach residents, Ayres said. Company representatives will be meeting with members of council to review their plans.
During his report, Petrella said the village received $70,485.60 in marijuana tax money from the state for July. That brings the village’s total marijuana tax money to $1,319,977.54.
The mayor added that five new businesses had opened in the village in July: WVU Medicine (Dr. Derek Powell), Ruby Lee’s Kitchen, TNT Medical Training Services LLC, Better Movement Therapy and Under the Shade Tree Mobile Mechanic. That brings to seven the number of new businesses that have moved into the village this year and 45 total since 2022, he said.
Petrella thanked ODOT for its efforts in installing new overhead signs in the village.
Kosegi reported that 23 streetlights along Cadiz Road are scheduled to be upgraded to LEDs and the lights along Grove Street had already been changed.
Council also:
• Approved the second reading of an ordinance that will amend the village’s garbage and disposal ordinances;
• Approved the second reading of a resolution that would allow the village to invest funds in a perpetual fund where principal will be maintained and the interest will be spent subject to council’s wishes;
• Approved the second reading of an ordinance that will create a public records policy on the production and inspection of video recordings for law enforcement;
• Passed an emergency ordinance providing a $10,000 advance to the police disability and pension fund;
• Heard that ridership on the Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority was up 9.5%;
• Adopted a resolution authorizing tax levies and certifying them to the county auditor; and
• Approved a budget amendment for the Jefferson-Belmont Regional Solid Waste Authority.
The next council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 3 in the Municipal Building. Council will return to its schedule of holding meetings on the first and third Thursdays of each month beginning in September.