New Boston gets another $1,277,000 for phases 3 & 4 of sewer project

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By Frank Lewis

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The total cost of the New Boston sewer project, after all is said and done will be approximately $7 million. That’s the total after the village received some great news Thursday evening.

The village of New Boston will receive $1,277,000 in free money again for phase 3 and phase 4 of the village sewer project. What is important for citizens of New Boston to know is that throughout the entire process of phases 1 through 4, the village got one zero percentage loan for $1.2 million and the rest has been either principle forgiveness money through DEFA or the $1 million through the U.S. Corps of Engineers.

DEFA is the finance department for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“They just granted it yesterday (Thursday),” Village Administrator Steve Hamilton told the Daily Times. “Yesterday evening I got an email from DEFA, saying that we got principle forgiveness money again.”

“With that and the $1 million from the reimbursement 594 Program through the U.S. Corps (of Engineers) we will totally pay for those phases without a penny coming out of the village at all,” Hamilton said. “That will be enough to cover both phases to where the village won’t have to pay a penny or get a loan.”

Over the past three years the village has been able to receive in principle forgiveness money $2,327,000 the first time and $1,277,000 this time.

“I have already turned in enough receipts to take care of our share of the corps’ money, their 25 percent,” Hamilton said. “So all of this money will go towards phases 3 and 4.”

Hamilton said the engineering firm working on the project held the village’s hand throughout the process.

“It’s the village all working together with these government and state entities,” Hamilton said. “Our engineer, Strand, is a top notch engineering firm that has really stepped up and made sure that we had all of our Ts crossed and our Is dotted before I sent anything off. Strand has been a big asset the village of New Boston.”

Hamilton said the process has been long and required bringing a lot of entities together.

“I’ve got these people out here in the Ohio EPA and the federal EPA and DEFA and OWDA (Ohio Water Development Authority) and RCAC (Rural Community Assistance Program) and all these people, that when I told them that the village was going to take care of these CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) problems that they trusted me to do that,” Hamilton said. “They wouldn’t have given all of this principle forgiveness money if they wouldn’t have trusted the village in what they were going to do in the future.”

Hamilton said the key to the success of a project such as the New Boston sewer project is teamwork.

“It is a whole team effort,” Hamilton said. “From all the Council members to the mayor from all of the entities that we work with, it is all a team effort. It’s not just one person. It takes all of us.”

Reach Frank Lewis at 740-353-3101, ext. 1928, or on Twitter @franklewis.

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