MOUNT VERNON — The city took another step on Monday night to resolve an issue council members have discussed for seven years.
Council members authorized the administration to contract with Kokosing Industrial Inc. on the wastewater treatment plant phosphorus project.
“This is one of the most important infrastructure investments Mount Vernon will make over the next decade,” Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers said.
“It will ensure that we meet state and federal requirements, maintain reliable wastewater treatment capacity, and position ourselves for sustainable growth well into the future.”
City council members have discussed phosphorus since the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency made reducing phosphorus levels flowing into Lake Erie a priority in 2018.
The OEPA has tightened its phosphorus limits since then, and the city has until 2027 to meet the next compliance milestone.
“Our existing facility simply wasn’t built for today’s nutrient standards,” Salyers said. “The EPA’s new phosphorus discharge limit is 1 mg per liter, which requires new processes and equipment that our current system cannot meet without these upgrades.”
Salyers said the project improves the city’s capacity to handle solids and plant reliability. It adds redundancy (a backup path if something becomes inoperable) to its aging systems and modernizes plant controls.
In addition to meeting OEPA’s mandated compliance timeline, Salyers said the project is necessary because of aging and failing systems. Many were built in the 1970s and 1980s.
Last week, the city had to buy an electrical panel on eBay.
“When you can’t get it from a vendor, and you have to get it from eBay, that’s a critical situation,” Salyers said.
He cited rising costs and the risk of losing low-interest financing and potential principal forgiveness as other reasons why the city must act now.
Project scope
The bulk of the cost will be Phase 1, upgrading the plant’s failing infrastructure. Upgrades include:
•Phosphorus removal: installing new chemical feed systems that update clarifiers and enhance sludge digestion.
•Adding thickening and dewatering equipment to reduce disposal and hauling costs.
•New controls, backup generation, and redundant switch gear
“Doing nothing is not an option.”
Tanner Salyers, safety-service director
The upgrades ensure future flexibility if flow or regulations change.
“This approach ensures the city maintains compliance and operational stability throughout construction and for future growth.”
Salyers said building capacity for growth is another focus. Phase 2 is having design controls already in place when development comes to fruition.
“We want to do some due diligence planning now, have the design in place for that phase Phase 2, which is essentially another clarifier to bring on some more capacity,” he said.
“But we don’t need to put the shovel in the ground on that until we know that the ratepayers will be there to shoulder that burden. We shouldn’t stick that on the current ratepayers in the city of Mount Vernon.”
CMAR includes guaranteed maximum price
The Kokosing contract is a construction manager at risk (CMAR) contract. Under a CMAR, the contractor joins the project before construction starts and works with the engineer (Arcadis US Inc.) on design, budgeting, and scheduling.
In a traditional design-build model, the contractor only sees plans when they are complete. Salyers said that can lead to cost overruns and change orders.
The CMAR model provides a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the project. Salyers said a GMP protects the city financially and keeps the project on track through constant collaboration.
Three contractors submitted bids. Salyers said the city chose Kokosing because it has extensive experience working in the wastewater treatment plant, has worked with Arcadis before, and has a proven quality management system.
Additionally, the company is headquartered in Knox County and has employees in Mount Vernon.
“If we’re going to spend ratepayer dollars on a project, we would like to see those project dollars be circulated in our community for keeping our people employed at home,” Salyers said.
Another plus is that Kokosing said the plant would remain operational during construction.
The administration is still negotiating the final contract with Kokosing.
Cost and funding for phosphorus project
The current estimated cost, with 30% of the design completed, is roughly $46.2 million. Kokosing and Arcadis will work together on the final design, which will yield the final GMP.
Administration officials are considering a low-interest loan from the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund. Repayment is structured over 20 to 30 years and starts after Kokosing completes construction.
Salyers said a 20- to 30-year term enables the city to restructure the loan if grants or other funding opportunities become available.
“Each year of delay carries a 6 to 8 percent inflationary cost, which means at this point two to three million dollars.”
safety-service director tanner salyers
Kokosing’s timeline for completing the upgrades is just over two years. The other bids were for three years.
Phosphorus project cost
Base construction cost: $40,000,000
CMAR fee (Kokosing): $1,800,000 (4.5% of base construction cost. If the base construction cost increases or decreases, so would the CMAR fee)
Construction support costs: $2,542,850
Contingency allowance: $2,000,000
Total estimated cost: $46,218,900
“When you add another year onto that timeline, it shifts costs into operational costs for us,” Salyers said. “Reducing that time of completion makes sure that we can focus on getting back to construction.”
Arcadis worked with the city on its recent rate study in conjunction with Project H2Overhaul. Arcadis factored the debt service on the upgrades into its recommended rate structure.
“There will be no need for additional rate increases beyond the discussed 11% adjustments scheduled for 2026, ’27, and ’28,” Salyers said.
Council member Tammy Woods questioned whether the 11% rate increases are enough if the base construction cost increases.
Joe Jacobs of Arcadis said the rate model built in tap fees from projected growth. He believes the model is conservative.
“I think the way it’s planned now should be sufficient to cover it,” he said.
Full transparency
Salyers said the administration will “maintain a full transparency throughout this process.” That includes regular updates to the council, open communications with the public, and detailed project tracking.
The city will include a link to Kokosing’s project-tracking on its website and hold public briefings.
Woods acknowledged the need for the project, but urged the council to use caution.
“This is the first step, but once you start that ball rolling, it tends to build up momentum and what’s being talked about here is, compounded, a 37% increase for people in their wastewater bills. I don’t want to take the focus off that. That’s huge for folks,” she said.
“You know those numbers are going to grow, so I just advocate for administration, do whatever you can to find us some free money would be fabulous. Interest-free money would be great, but just keep that in mind as this progresses.”
The council suspended the third reading and passed the legislation as an emergency.
Jacobs said that if the council did not approve the legislation on Monday, the loan approval timeline would be delayed until January. The Ohio Water Development Authority, essentially the “bank” for the WPCLF, does not meet in November and December.
The legislation only authorizes the administration to contract with Kokosing as the CMAR. Council will still have to approve the final project and cost.