BRADFORD — Village Administrator Rick Looker announced during Thursday night’s Bradford Council meeting that the village’s new Water Treatment Plant is now in operation.

“I’m pleased to report that the water plant has been placed online, and we are producing water through the new Water Treatment Plant,” Looker said.

The village received their final approval from building inspectors Thursday, Looker said.

“There’s a multitude of things that still need to be completed out there within the plant itself, but everything is functional and we’re operational,” Looker said.

He added that the plant is still “fine-tuning” a number of items, such as the water hardness.

“It’s about twice as hard as it normally is,” Looker said.

It was a five-year process to reach this milestone, including approximately eight months of construction. The new plant was created to replace the aging of the old plant and its outdated equipment. The old plant was built between the 1950s and 1960s.

Over at the village’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, Looker said that the village recently had a meeting with representatives of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The plant is not removing enough phosphorus from sewer water.

Looker also went over the village’s process for snow events. “There’s no pre-treatment,” he said, explaining that they do not put down brine.

The village does not begin putting salt down until after the snow or winter weather event has started affecting the roads.

“If it gets slick, we’re going to salt,” Looker said.

Council member Bob Daughtery asked how much salt the village has. Looker said approximately 35 tons.

The council also went into an executive session during their meeting to discuss personnel and personnel wages.

After the executive session, the council agreed upon a 2 percent raise for full- and part-time village employees for two years. The effective date was set as Jan. 1. The council is expected to vote on a formal resolution on this raise during their next meeting on Jan. 25.

Earlier in their meeting, the council appointed Sandra Miller back to the council. There is still an open seat on council, recently vacated by outgoing council member Tom Moore. For anyone interested in joining the council, the village can be contacted at 937-448-2718.