Lima City Council passed Ordinance 3125 on its first reading, authorizing the mayor to enter into a contract with Alterra Inc. for emergency repair of a 66-inch sanitary sewer.

Councilor Gordon asked staff about the project timeline. A city utilities representative (identified on the record as Caprella) said the work was underway but had been set back by cold weather. "It's being worked on now. The cold weather put them back a little bit. They were hoping to be done by Christmas," the staff member said, adding that water-line rerouting and the depth of the sewer had complicated work. The staff member described the sewer as "very deep" and noted that the contractor had to reroute a water line.

Councilors and staff said the contractor selected for the emergency work is handling excavation and that, with thawing conditions, the work was expected to finish "within the next two to three weeks." Council comments included expressions of appreciation for the difficulty of the work and for crews working in deep excavations.

Ordinance 3125 was moved, seconded and passed on a roll-call vote of 7-0. The ordinance authorizes the emergency repair contract; finer contractual terms and dollar amounts were not read into the transcript.