Community

Ohio County Gives Bethlehem Check for Water Meters

BETHLEHEM -- The village is on its way to installing about 1,200 electronic water meters, and officials say the new technology will make water department billing more efficient.

On Friday, Bethlehem received a check for $105,000 from the Ohio County Commission to help pay for half of the project -- which has an estimated price tag of $210,000.

“We spend (the equivalent of) about three months out of the year reading meters,” said Benjamin Gilbert, head of maintenance for the village of Bethlehem. “This will bring that down to about 12 days out of the year.”

The electronic meters permit a village employee to drive along village streets and take readings from their vehicle.

Currently, village employees work in tandem to read meters manually as a worker sits in a vehicle and records usage.

About 1,200 meters will be purchased over time, and Gilbert estimates it will take about 12 months for them to be installed.

Village Attorney T.C. McCarthy said Bethlehem is in the middle of a four-year project to replace infrastructure throughout the town, and this includes the upgrading of water meters.

“This will allow us to save about 40-80 hours a month in man hours,” he said.

The water meters to be purchased are the same type as the 4,500 meters installed throughout Ohio County by the Ohio County Public Service District.

Bethlehem Mayor Don Junkins received the check from Ohio County Commission President Tim McCormick during a gathering Friday outside the Bethlehem Municipal Building.

Junkins said he recently attended a public service district meeting to learn more about its experiences with the meters.

“They have a much larger set-up than we do. I didn’t realize they were so large,” Junkins said. “Hopefully, they have got a lot of the bugs worked out and we can learn from that.”

Networking with the PSD will be “a valuable asset to Bethlehem,” he said.

During their most recent meeting, Ohio County commissioners discussed giving the money to Bethlehem for water meters. Commissioners offered two suggestions to Bethlehem as part of the deal.

They said Bethlehem officials should work with the PSD to learn about the meters.

Secondly, they told the village they should order no more than 200 meters at a time, and install them as they come.

Bethlehem officials indicated Friday they do plan to order the meters in increments of no more than 300.

Junkins and McCarthy both praised county commissioners for their prior assistance to Bethlehem.

Three years ago the county provided financial assistance to the village when Bethlehem experienced a major landslip near its municipal park.

McCormick said he and village officials all were smiling behind their masks as he presented the check to Junkins.

“Bethlehem is not the only town we have helped,” he said. “Every town in Ohio County has received something from the commissioners.”