Completing the Kiski Valley Water Pollution Control Authority's expansion project will take longer than anticipated.

Officials said the $32 million program that will double the treatment plant's capacity will be done in July.

The original contract called for the construction to be completed by the end of October, with an expanded plant operational by next spring.

Officials said that contractor Galway Bay was slow in getting a structure finished, thus delaying Kirby Electric's opportunity to wire up the new facility.

Galway Bay's work is 76 percent completed, while Kirby Electric's work is nearly 60 percent done.

Galway could be fined daily for the project's tardiness, officials said.

Last chance agreement

The authority's board approved a last chance agreement, allowing delinquent customers to set a payment schedule while keeping pace on their regular quarterly bills.

As part of the agreement, a customer who falls behind on those payments will have a water shut-off notice issued the following day.

“We do an injustice to those people paying on time,” said authority Chairman A.J. Bione. “It's doing a disservice to them by people not paying.”

The agreement passed 10-0.

In other business

• New authority manager Dennis Duryea's permanent contract was approved.

Duryea will be paid $103,000 per year. He will receive a $50 monthly stipend for using his personal cell phone for authority business, as opposed to carrying around a second cell phone.

Duryea will also set up a safety committee among operators and office personnel, in accordance to state standards.

A committee goal is to reduce workers' compensation costs.

“We'll only save about $900 to $1,000 a year, but we'll have a safer workplace,” Duryea said.

• A $600,000 contract was awarded to Pollard Land Services of Girard to replace the damaged pump station along Penn Run in West Leechburg.

Pollard Land was the low bidder among 11 companies that submitted proposals.

• The authority approved a 16-month contract with Premier, Inc. for electrical service for .067 cents per kilowatt hour.

Officials said the treatment plant will see a surge in savings when the plant expansion is up and running.

George Guido is a freelance writer for Trib Total Media.

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