Work on a neighborhood-wide sewer project in Ravenna Township’s Chinn Allotment has hit a snag, courtesy of supply chain issues and FirstEnergy, the parent company of Ohio Edison.
In 2019, county officials decided to install new sewer lines in the Chinn Allotment, where residents relied on what the Portage County Combined General Health District had concluded in 2018 were non-functional or sometimes non-existent septic systems.
Tying into the new sewer main would not be optional, even for property owners who could prove their septic systems are fully functional.
Contractor United Earthworks started work this past spring to install sewer mains on part of Red Brush Road/Brady Lake Road, Genevieve Road, Plainview Road, Lois Road, Marchinn Road, Woodlawn Avenue, Roselawn Avenue, Rose Street, Wall Street, Mabel Avenue and San Mar Street.
Part of the project involves shoring up FirstEnergy’s utility poles on Brady Lake Road so they remain stable while trenching is underway. Portage County Water Resources Director Dan Blakely said FirstEnergy/Ohio Edison rejected the county’s first proposal as to how that work might be done and has not responded to subsequent suggestions.
“We're still trying to work through how we're going to be able to dig close to the poles while properly supporting the electric poles, so we don't have any issues,” he said.
FirstEnergy did not respond to The Portager’s request for comment.
Also delaying the project is sourcing equipment needed to install pump stations and even setting the final designs for them.
“I think that’s more of an issue with supply lines,” Blakely said. “That’s kind of the case with everything. What used to take weeks to get, it takes months.”
Meanwhile, residents continue to use their more or less functional septic systems and will until the project is complete. That was originally anticipated to have happened by January 2027. Residents would have another year to comply with the county health department’s order that all users must tie into the sewer lines by January 2028.
Since the timeline for project completion is now unknown, John Vence, county water resources sanitary engineer and project manager, said deadlines are being recalibrated, and Blakely said the county is juggling time-sensitive state and federal grants it received.
“Some of them do have timelines by which the money needs to be spent, and those ones we’re staggering so we’re using those funds first. The grants that are less critical, and don’t have as stringent of timelines, those will be the ones that we utilize last in paying for the project,” he said.
Project delays are so common that the state and federal government typically cooperate as long as “it looks like we’re making progress and everything is moving toward an end goal,” he added.
However, as time passes, the financial hit property owners will take is increasing. Blakely originally estimated lateral pipes from dwelling units to the new sewer mains would cost $6,000 to $10,000, but inflationary pressures are driving that price tag upwards, he said.
Each dwelling unit owner will choose their own contractor to construct the lateral lines and will pay the bill out of pocket. The cost increases the further the dwelling unit is from the sewer main, and that’s not even counting the county’s $5,730 sewer line tap-in fee, Blakely acknowledged.
All of which has Chinn resident Holly Schweitzer seeing red. She’s been advocating for funding relief for herself and her neighbors since the project was proposed and believes continued delays will make matters worse.
“The longer this project remains stalled, the greater the possibility that residents will be asked to absorb even more expense,” Schweitzer said. “Property owners should not have to pay higher project costs because FirstEnergy has not completed the work necessary for construction to continue.”
Schweitzer called on county, township and state officials to bring FirstEnergy and Ohio Edison “to the table” to identify what remains unresolved and secure a definite schedule for the utility work.
“We sincerely appreciate the time and effort our township and county officials have put into this project,” she said. "They have listened to residents, followed up on our concerns and continued working to move the project forward. Unfortunately, they and the contractor are now waiting on action that only FirstEnergy and Ohio Edison can provide.”
Township Trustee Vince Coia said he’d been attending biweekly meetings with the contractor, county water department and other stakeholders. That includes the county engineer’s office, which issues permits for all work done in road right-of-ways.
State Rep. Heidi Workman is also involved. She’s working the phones, trying to speak with anyone who can get the project back on track. Whether that means a different plan FirstEnergy will approve for stabilizing the poles, the contractor agreeing to relocate the proposed sanitary sewers or something else remains unknown.
“They had a virtual meeting last week and the county’s going to send some revised plans back to FirstEnergy, and hopefully they can fast track them so they can move on and continue work on the project. I don’t know what fast track means, whether it means a couple weeks or a couple months. You know how it is with utility companies,” Coia said.
Workman is taking nothing for granted. Her office continues to provide support as needed, and she’s keeping the phone lines to PUCO and FirstEnergy open.
“We certainly need to get this moving,” she said.