By James Massara
The Bucyrus City Service Committee unanimously voted to present changes to a city ordinance on water line extensions to city council during a joint committee meeting Thursday evening.
City Law Director Rob Ratliff presented alterations to an existing ordinance allowing city officials to expand water lines outside the city limits.
Additions to the ordinance said the cost of water line extension is assessed to the customer unless the extensions are necessary for potential expansion of city services.
The city also would be able to increase the requested size of water line pipes based on assessments of future needs with the city covering the cost difference from the customer’s requested project specifications.
The edits to the ordinance require council approval for extensions beyond the adjoining township, when the previous version required approval for any extensions outside the city limits.
The service committee heard from Lyn Makeever of Makeever and Associates on the possibilities of extending outside the city limits. Makeever said it was his opinion that Bucyrus would benefit from extending water lines to rural sections of Crawford County. He used a line from Bucyrus to North Robinson as an example.
Makeever said, to be efficient, city officials should look into installing six-inch lines instead of eight-inch lines that have commonly been used. He said eight-inch lines only are mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency when lines are connected to fire hydrants.
Makeever told the committee the lines should be six-inch for the purpose of residential consumption, as fire hydrant hook-up options are not as necessary in the rural areas. He said water tankers, portable reservoirs and other forms of mutual aid are available for fire protection.
He said a six-inch line for human consumption could sufficiently supply Nevada from Bucyrus and supply Oceola along the way.City Council President Sis Love asked Makeever if grants would be available or if Bucyrus would have to cover all costs.
“Paying for it would be on us?” she asked.
Makeever said he did not look into the cost division of such a project without first knowing if council was interested.
“That’s phase two,” he said, “I’m not going to waste time on that, unless it’s decided it’s viable and it’s decided to move forward.”
He said to get a project fully operational could take years, “but it starts here,” he said.
Before any project began, Makeever said he would meet with city officials, the fire chief and others to have the input of all involved.
Daniel Wirebaugh said he would not be in favor of allowing customers to hook up to the city’s lines without being annexed into the city.
“I’m not talking about annexing in Oceola,” he said, “But if someone is nearby just outside the city and wants our water, then they should buy in.”
Ratliff said the annexation portion of the ordinance should be looked at closely in the future. Love said the committee should review the entire ordinance section by section before the next meeting. The committee closed the meeting after the vote to show the ordinance changes to the full council.