Martinsburg seeks money for new water line

Martinsburg town hall

MOUNT VERNON — The Village of Martinsburg is applying for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to round out the funding for water improvements in the village.

Of the $500,000, $470,000 will go toward construction costs and $30,000 toward administrative costs.

The project involves installing a new water line from the village's well field and storage tank to the western corporation limits on State Route 62.

Additional work includes:

•Repairing or replacing existing pipe and fittings

•Adding seven fire hydrants

•Cleaning, rehabbing, and replacing the pitless adapters in village wells #3 and #4

The total project cost is $829,500. If approved, village officials will pair the $500,000 critical infrastructure money with a $329,500 Ohio Public Works Commission grant the village already received.

"The critical component of this project is the current water line currently dead ends and has been breaking," Jillian Flowers, associate planner with CDC of Ohio, told the commissioners on Thursday. "This project will make an actual loop … hopefully that will lessen the breaks.

"This will put the village in a better water position," she added.

The application deadline is June 14. The state announces the awards in August. Work must be completed by August 2025.

The commissioners held the second public hearing on the project Thursday.