Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-accessible fishing piers and canoe launches could be in place at Gilbert and Marilla reservoirs before the end of summer.
Bradford City Water Authority Executive Director Steve Disney said at Tuesday’s regular meeting that bids are now being sought for the project, which the authority is working on with the McKean County Conservation District.
The Conservation District will be using grant funding that may be used for recreational improvements to public lands, Disney noted.
If a bid is accepted, the anticipated completion date for the Gilbert Reservoir project is July 30, and the expected completion date for the Marilla Reservoir project is Aug. 31.
Disney also said the authority has received approval from the Department of Dam Safety to refill the Gilbert Reservoir following the recent Gilbert Dam rehabilitation project. However, he explained they will hold off on refilling it, because, if a successful bid is accepted for the fishing pier/canoe launch project, the reservoir will have to be lowered again.
“We can’t refill any more than three inches a day,” noted Disney, who said the regulations on how that is done have changed since the last time they had to refill a reservoir. He noted that it will be difficult to follow the regulations especially in a weather event such as flash flooding.
Chairman Ron Orris wondered what would happen if there was a flash flood that caused the water level to rise faster than allowed, and Disney explained they would have to shut off the valve until the water starts to recede.
Also at the meeting, the authority approved the reappointment of Richard Luther to a five-year term as a board member; also, the group elected officers. All the officers will remain the same as in 2016, with Orris as chairman, Thomas Arrowsmith as vice chairman, Richard Luther as treasurer, Terry Lopus as assistant secretary/treasurer, and Robert Douglas as assistant treasurer/secretary.
The personnel committee will be Orris and Lopus, and serving on both the finance and land resources committee will be Orris, Arrowsmith, Douglas and Luther.
Erie-based contractor Wm. T. Spaeder is currently installing valves this week at Reservoir #4. The authority is having remotely controlled reservoir valves installed at Reservoir #4 and the Kendall Avenue tank to make it possible to contain 5.5 million gallons of drinking water to store it in the event of a large water main break.
The valve installation will not be able to be completed until the valve actuators are shipped at the end of March.
The board passed two resolutions required by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that will allow the authority to request 75 percent reimbursement for the cost of moving two water mains when PennDOT repairs two Foster Township bridges.
The authority received final copies of the annual dam inspections from Bankson Engineers. The inspections were made in fall 2016.
“All of our dams are in good condition,” said Disney. “There’s no apparent problems.”
Orris took a few minutes at the end of the meeting to talk about the past year.
He said there have been “challenges” with three long-time authority faces leaving: executive director Kim Benjamin, authority solicitor Fred Gallup and long-time employee Roger Pais.
“Steve’s been a terrific replacement,” said Orris, noting that Benjamin stayed on a couple of months to work with Disney, making for a smooth transition. He also seemed pleased with Gallup’s and Pais’ replacements, as well as the staff members who helped along the way.
“I look forward to 2017,” said Orris, listing some of the upcoming tasks, including the refilling of the Gilbert Reservoir, installing the actuators and developing the new five-year plan. “I know 2017’s going to be a good one.”
