Sandusky city commission approves $2.4 million 'digester'
Also agrees to help SNAP families with donations; Dennis Murray Sr. welcomes new commissioners and thanks public servants
SANDUSKY, OH — The Sandusky City Commission unanimously approved a multi-million dollar rehabilitation project for the Water Pollution Control Digester No. 2 at Monday’s meeting, voting 7-0 to move forward with a design-build contract despite concerns over the process and a major increase in project cost.
The approval, which ends a two-year delay on the essential repair, authorizes the city manager to contract with Mosser Construction Inc. for the work. However, the vote followed a lengthy discussion that revealed the current bid price is roughly double the initial estimate, prompting Commissioner Jeff Krabill to describe the city’s necessary wastewater treatment infrastructure as “literally... on life support.”
💰 Doubling the price tag
The primary friction point of the debate was the soaring cost. Commissioner Murray acknowledged the necessity of the project but questioned the jump from an early, two-year-old estimate of approximately $1 million to the current project price.
“We typically don’t miss by double,” Krabill stated, expressing surprise and concern over the lack of a clear explanation for the drastic increase. He also questioned the use of the design-build contract method—which was intended to save costs—for what he viewed as a repair rather than new construction. He stressed that Commission needs to be “a little better informed as to what the process is, where we are, and why some of these things are happening.”
Staff addresses cost and age
The project was recommended by former city engineer Aaron Klein. Josh Snyder, a city employee in the engineering department since 2019, was named by city manager John Orzech on Monday to serve as interim public works director.
Snyder responded by clarifying that the initial $1 million figure was an informal, non-engineering estimate generated solely by Wastewater staff two years ago and was not based on a detailed assessment.
“We didn’t know what we didn’t know until we had an engineer involved,” Snyder explained, adding that market volatility over the past year has also driven costs higher. He emphasized that the project is far beyond simple maintenance: “We’re getting a brand new digester out of this, except for the concrete.”
City staff explained that the 47-year-old piece of equipment had reached the end of its useful life in a toxic, corrosive environment. Commissioner Dick Brady underscored the urgency of the repair, noting that having only one operational digester has left the city “on life support” for more than a year.
“If it fails, we are up a creek,” Brady warned, emphasizing that the lack of redundancy creates the risk of overflow if the single remaining unit goes down.
County officials, prior to Monday’s meeting, raised questions about what caused the digester to fail and whether there were maintenance issues. When asked about the vote Tuesday morning, Erie County commissioner Pat Shenigo said he was surprised by it.
“I’m disappointed,” he said, declining to comment further.
✅ Unanimous approval
Despite the process and budget concerns, all commissioners agreed the project could not be delayed further due to the risk to the city’s infrastructure.
Following a brief clarification from the law director on the proper procedure for awarding design-build contracts, the Commission voted 7-0 to approve the ordinance, authorizing the contract with Mosser Construction. The project is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete.
The Commission immediately followed the digester vote by approving a first and final change order for the Columbus Avenue Reconstruction and Streetscape Project, noting that the change resulted in a positive “give back” of $118,000 to the city.
🤝 Other business: Shutdown relief efforts
In a strong show of local support amidst a federal budget impasse, the Commission quickly and unanimously approved two motions for financial aid aimed at local hunger relief organizations affected by the government shutdown and the interruption of federal benefits like SNAP.
Commissioner Dick Brady introduced the motions, noting that the ongoing federal shutdown was cutting off staff benefits and dramatically affecting the local population.
The Commission first approved a motion to make $20,000 available to Victory Kitchen. The funds will be expended at a rate of $5,000 per week until federal benefits are confirmed to be restored.
A second motion was unanimously passed, authorizing a one-time immediate $5,000 donation to Father’s Heart Church. Commissioner Brady noted that the church’s business model allows the $5,000 to cover their grocery bill for approximately five weeks, providing meals to an estimated 2,700 people a month.
Family affair: Murray Sr. honors son, cousin as era’s end begins
Following the city business, the meeting turned to a more personal and reflective note as a long-time family of city leadership publicly marked the end of an era.
During the audience comments portion of Monday’s meeting, Dennis Murray Sr. — a commanding community figure, in his own right, and the father of outgoing Commission President Dennis Murray Jr. — addressed the body and the commissioners-elect. Murray Sr. dedicated his remarks to thanking the city staff and underscoring the deep-seated family commitment to Sandusky.
“I love this city. I always have, and I was heartened with Dennis as a teenager when he showed the same love for our community,” Murray Sr. said, recalling the time when he first fell in love with Sandusky, as a boy, growing up on East Adams Street.
The senior partner at Murray & Murray, the law firm his father founded more than 100 years ago, chided commission president Dick Brady, referring to him as family, and he thanked his son, for their service on commission.
“I want to thank you in particular, my cousin, Dick Brady. And I especially want to thank my son, Dennis, because he has taken to heart, the best interests of the community and for that, I will forever remain grateful.”
The address then took a brief, spontaneous turn toward the family’s continuing presence in city government. Murray Sr. mentioned his granddaughter, Melanie Murray, was recently hired as an assistant law director for the city. In a proud, slightly flustered aside, he quipped, “It looks like real talent.”