(a) The "Private Inflow Removal Assistance Program" is hereby established to provide financial and technical assistance to owners of private property who are required to:
(1) Remove existing clean water connections from sanitary sewers;
(2) Redirect storm water from existing sewer to designated storm sewers, ditches, natural water courses or other designated drainage outlets;
(3) Redirect sanitary waste waters to newly designated sanitary sewers; or
(4) Repair, replace or seal an existing lateral connection to a sanitary sewer to reduce infiltration of surface or ground water in furtherance of municipal implementation of the Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan.
(b) The City Administrator shall include design of all necessary laterals in the scope of work to be provided by each design professional to whom a contract is awarded to design public infrastructure improvements required by the Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan or by any judicial or administrative order related thereto. The contractual provisions shall obligate the design professional to: identify all sewer and storm water connections required to be installed, eliminated, altered, repaired or replaced to make effective use of public sewage or drainage improvements constructed or to be constructed in accordance with designs produced under the contract. The contract shall further require the design professional to develop an executable design depicting the recommended alignment, depth and method of connection of all laterals to be installed or improved on each parcel of land connected to public sewage or drainage facilities.
(c) Upon completion of the designs required by sub-paragraph (b), the City Administrator shall notify each affected property owner of all sewer and drainage connections required to be installed, eliminated, altered or replaced to achieve compliance with Codified Ordinances 925.03 and 925.04. The notice shall be accompanied by a copy of the proposed design prepared by the design professional and shall notify the property owner that compliance may be achieved by granting the municipality permission to enter the premises and execute the improvements depicted by the proposed design. If given, consent shall be expressed in writing on forms approved by the City Law Director and shall contain appropriate language absolving the municipality of liability with respect to any claim that may be brought based, in whole or in part, on allegations that injury to persons or property resulted from negligence in the design or installation of the improvements.
(d) The Notice required by paragraph (b) of this Section shall establish a date thirty or more days following the date of mailing by which consent to municipal execution of the proposed design must be received. The offer to provide construction services shall be deemed withdrawn as of the close of business on the date recited in the notice with respect to any property for which the required consent has not been received. The City Administrator shall compile a list of properties to be connected to public sewage and drainage facilities by contractors engaged by the City and determine the number of contracts reasonably required to assure timely completion of the work in accordance with schedules established by the judicial Consent Order or administrative directions issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the scope of work to be undertaken under each contract. In determining the number and location of properties to be included within the scope of work established for each contract, the City Administrator shall consider the total number of properties for which owner consents have been received, the complexity of site-specific designs to be executed and the need to schedule work in different areas at different times to minimize disruption of traffic patterns and assure continued vehicular and pedestrian access to properties affected by the work. Reasonable efforts shall be made to assign adjacent and neighboring properties to the same contract. All contracts to be awarded pursuant to the authority of this Section shall be let to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder in accordance with municipal procurement practices established by Ordinance and general laws in effect on the date the contract is awarded. In the event a single bidder presents the lowest responsive bid to perform two or more contracts scheduled for simultaneous execution, the City Administrator shall consider the bidder's capacity to perform multiple contracts within the time allotted and may award one or more contracts to the next lowest available bidder. All costs arising under the terms of any contract awarded pursuant to the authority of this Section shall be paid from appropriated funds allocated for Private Inflow Removal Assistance Program expenditure by budgetary measures in effect on the date the contract is awarded. Subject to the sufficiency of lawfully available funds, the City Administrator granted continuing authority to award contracts for the installation, repair, alteration, improvement or removal of sewage and drainage laterals required to implement the Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan or comply with judicial and administrative orders pertaining thereto.
(e) No property owner shall be required to use the design services or construction services to be provided pursuant to this Section or to install improvements conforming to the design proposed by the municipally's designated design professional. The Notice required by subparagraph (c) of this Section shall clearly state that the property owner may employ the services of a licensed engineer, architect or municipally-registered plumbing contractor to propose an alternate design for the installation of required facilities and may choose to employ a municipally-registered contractor to execute the design proposed by the municipality or such alternate design as may be proposed by the property owner. The Notice shall establish a date by which a property owner choosing not to consent to municipal installation of the required improvements shall confirm the owner's intention to execute the design proposed by the municipality's design professional using a municipally-registered contractor selected by the property owner or present an alternate design for installation of the required improvements. The date by which alternate designs must be submitted for review shall not be earlier than 45 days following the date of mailing of the notice.
(f) Proposals to install required laterals in accordance with an alternate design shall be reviewed within 10 days of receipt by appropriately trained engineering staff to determine whether the improvements proposed are sufficient to achieve the public purposes of eliminating clean water discharges to sanitary sewage facilities and preventing sanitary waste water discharges to storm water facilities. Notice to each property owner of the acceptance or rejection of proposal to install required improvements in accordance with an alternate design shall include a statement of the reason any proposal is rejected and date by which additional proposals may be presented for review which shall not be less than 10 days nor longer than 30 days following the date of mailing of the notice. No permit authorizing work to be performed within the boundaries of a public right of way to install, repair, modify or remove a sewage or drainage lateral in response to construction or proposed construction of public infrastructure improvements required by the Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan or any judicial or administrative order pertaining thereto shall be issued prior to approval of the installation design and materials specifications required by this Section. When granted, the design approval and all permits issued pursuant to that approval shall require the work to be completed by a date certain which shall not be later than the date on which the municipal contractor engaged to connect neighboring properties to public sewage and drainage facilities is required to achieve substantial completion of the contracted work. The work shall not be deemed complete prior to municipal inspection and approval of the installation and such work shall not be covered prior to municipal inspection.
(g) A property owner who elects not to use construction services afforded by this Section shall be entitled to reimbursement of costs incurred to conform the premises to the requirements of Codified Ordinances 925.03 and 925.04 upon completion of all required work within the time periods established in accordance with this Section. Reimbursements authorized by this paragraph shall be paid from appropriated funds allocated for Private Inflow Removal Assistance Program expenditure by budgetary measures in effect on the date compliance is established to the satisfaction of the City Administrator. Costs to develop and obtain approval of an alternate installation design shall not be reimbursable. Costs incurred for labor, materials, use of equipment and fuel to remove, install, repair, seal or otherwise modify or improve laterals in conformity with an approved installation design shall be reimbursable. The amount to be paid in reimbursement shall be the lesser of all costs actually incurred for payment of reimbursable expenses or the amount that would have been incurred to complete all work identified by the design proposal provided with the Notice issued in accordance with paragraph (c) of this Section using unit costs established by the contract awarded to the municipal contractor engaged to connect the nearest neighboring property to public sewage and/or drainage facilities.
(h) The City Administrator is authorized to grant reasonable extensions of time to accomplish any act required to qualify a property for reimbursement assistance but shall not allow an extension of time for performance of any requirement that will: delay the scheduled closure of a combined sewer overflow outlet, obligate the City to pay stipulated penalties under the terms of any judicial order, expose the City to liability for payment of civil or criminal penalties under any statute or administrative rule or obligate the City to pay liquidated damages to, or execute a change order with, any person performing work under any municipal contract.
(i) The City Administrator shall discontinue water service to any property that is not in compliance with all requirements of Codified Ordinances 925.03 and 925.04 on the date on which compliance is required to establish eligibility for reimbursement under the terms and conditions of this Section. Service shall not be resumed until compliance with all requirements of Codified Ordinances 925.03 and 925.04 has been achieved. (Ord. 7152. Passed 5-25-10.)