New London administrator outlines progress in village
New London administrator outlines progress in village
By David Jacobs
New London village administrator Shawn Pickworth provided updates on several infrastructure projects in his report to Village Council on Oct. 14.
Projects involving water, wastewater, storm sewers, and sanitation are progressing, with many nearing completion by the end of the month.
All details were specified in his written report that covered multiple topics.
One of the major updates concerns the Coleman Court water main project, where both the water and storm mains have been completed.
"Coleman Court Project – water main complete, storm complete, install curb drains then begin work on new road. Hopefully, this project will wrap up within the next couple of weeks,” Pickworth said.
In addition, Pickworth noted that the village has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQs) for the pump station project. “Pumpstation – we are out for RFQ’s (Request of Qualifications). Those are due by the end of the month,” he stated.
In the wastewater sector, Pickworth provided an update on the New London Avenue project, which is expected to start bidding by Nov. 1.
On the New London Avenue project, "we are getting close for going to bid on this project."
The engineer is asking Pickworth for dates and times.
"We should be out to bid around the 1st of November with the project to start early spring,” Pickworth said.
Another significant undertaking is the storm sewer replacement on North Main to East Washburn.
Pickworth said, “North Main to East Washburn storm replacement. Project is more than 3/4 done. Hoping to wrap this project up by the end of the month.”
On sanitation, Pickworth reported no major issues.
In other updates, the village is preparing to examine the sidewalks downtown with sonar on Oct. 18 as part of the downtown Transportation Alternatives Program.
Pickworth explained, “On October 18 we will be looking under the sidewalks downtown using sonar. We are hoping this will show any voids that need to be addressed during the project.”
Pickworth also touched on zoning, mentioning that it has been “relatively quiet for the last two weeks.”
He highlighted plans to upgrade the village website, stating, “We are looking to upgrade our website. We want something that is easy to work with and has some IT support for training and troubleshooting in the background. I reached out to [technical expert] Steve Ball this last week to get his opinion on a company. More to come.”
Involving village budgeting and forecasting, Pickworth discussed trying out new software called WaterWorth.
“WaterWorth will allow us to do this and much more," he said. "We are trying this software out with Water, Wastewater and Sanitation. We really believe this will help us as a Village to more accurately plan into the future and to be able to more clearly show what we do and why we are doing what we do.”
Pickworth concluded by highlighting the upcoming village council meeting on Oct. 28, during which the Huron County Growth Partnership will introduce itself.
“Huron County Growth Partnership will be here to introduce themselves and to make a presentation on who they are and what they can do to help New London," Pickworth said.
He also encouraged residents to report potholes, urging them to call the village office if any road conditions remain unresolved.
The telephone number is 419-929-4091.