After Athens County was hit with a huge snowstorm last week that shut down the entire area and surrounding counties, county commissioners are preparing for future disasters.
Commissioners received a bid at the meeting yesterday to purchase five backup power generators from Walker Engine Power in West Virginia.
But because Walker Engine could not provide the right type of generator, the commissioners denied the bid in accordance with the county engineer's recommendation, Commissioner Mark Sullivan said.
The commissioners will re-advertise for the generators, which will be used to power 911 emergency systems in the event of a power outage. During the recent storm, the Coolville Fire Department lost power on Feb.16. Power was restored at 6 p.m. on Feb. 18.
Athens County has an opportunity to take over the water lines at the Tomoko Trailer Court, in The Plains, from Tomoko owner Mark Abdella. This deal has been in the works for about a year but is moving along well, Sullivan said. Changes have to be made to the lines before ownership is transferred.
If the county buys the water lines, the residents would pay lower rates than they now do, because the lines would no longer be privately owned. The move would benefit the county, because it would gain a small amount of revenue on the deal, Sullivan said.
In other news, the Moonville Tunnel Group, based in Vinton County, received a support letter from the commissioners yesterday in an attempt to secure state funding. The group wants to install a nine mile-long bike trail in Zaleski State Forest that would run through Athens and Vinton counties.
If the state accepts the grant proposal, the Clean Ohio Fund would provide the money. Of the fund's $400 million, $25 million is reserved for trail grants.
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