By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - The Niles Township Board of Trustees has decided to expand its municipal water supply down South 11th Street, for businesses and residents in the area.
The project will consist of improvements to the Niles Township water system, including, but not limited to, the installation of eight and 12 inch watermains to complete a municipal water system along the South 11th Street corridor.
The total project will include about 24,600 lineal feet of eight-inch watermain, 4,200 lineal feet of 12-inch watermain, 60 fire hydrants, 4-gate valves and site restoration.
The estimated cost of the project is between $2.3 and $3 million dollars.
The special assessment would be a one time fee. The property owners will either be able to pay the fee initially or spread it out over a 15-year time period, Ringler added.
Those in the proposed special assessment district will not be required to hook up to the new system.
Construction of the project would be completed sometime in 2006 and all of the work to lay the pipes would be bored, a process where a machine works underground to dig tunnels, rather than actually digging the ground.
The Niles Township Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing for Niles Township residents wishing to have more information on the project at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at the Niles Township Hall, located at 320 Bell Road.
At the meeting the board will review the proposed special assessment district and will hear any objections of the proposed project.
In other business Berrien County Sheriff, Paul Bailey, presented the Board with the departments statistics for their patrols in Niles Township for the month of September.
Each month a sheriff's department deputy will attend a meeting to give the Board an update on the work they are doing in the township.