Council delays sewer lagoon Cell 2 rehab, advances lift station design; Western Rock seeks temporary airport lease

Milford city staff told the council they will postpone rehabilitation of Cell 2 at the sewer lagoon after engineers determined a proposed split‑cell approach would be an expensive short‑term fix likely to yield only 6–9 years of additional capacity.

Staff said the liner rehabilitation has been removed from the current project scope while lift station design and a flow meter project proceed; plans are currently under review by the state DEQ and staff expected to receive comments by the end of the week. As an interim step, city crews will remove stop boards from Cell 1 to test flow into Cell 2.

Separately, staff reported Western Rock has proposed a temporary batch plant lease at the north end of the Milford Airport. The council previously approved a $2,000‑per‑month lease at an October meeting, staff said, and the airport engineering firm Lochner is conducting an airspace study. Western Rock submitted a conditional use permit to Beaver County and was scheduled for a county hearing the evening of the council meeting.

No final contract or construction authorization for either project was adopted at the council meeting; staff said further steps depend on DEQ review and the outcome of the county conditional use hearing.