CANFIELD — City council started 2026 by learning about upcoming sewer rate increases.

“I met with Mahoning County Sanitary Engineer Bernie Petro,” City Manager David D’Apolito said. “He has Canfield on his radar.”

He said Petro looked at the contract with Canfield and noticed there hasn’t been a significant increase in years. He is looking at the amount of waste flowing through the sanitary sewer system, according to D’Apolito.

He said the city needs to know if there has been a big increase in the flow from Canfield’s system, and he came up with a plan to do that.

“We can put a meter on our pit and get a measurement of the amount we are putting into the system,” D’Apolito said.

At the city’s pit, everything from the city of Canfield flows through it and is moved on to the county’s system. The meter at that point would give an accurate count.

“For now, it looks like a serious increase is coming over time,” he said.

Newly elected Councilman Dave Schialdone asked Public Works Superintendent John Rapp how the city’s salt supply looks.

“Our newer salt dome holds four times what we used to be able to store,” Rapp said. “I think we are in very good shape.”

Mayor Don Dragish said he received numerous calls about the excellent plowing of the roads in Canfield. He said many mentioned coming from other communities and experiencing poorly plowed roads and finding Canfield’s roads almost dry.

“Your crew does an excellent job,” Dragish told Rapp.

Also on the agenda was an ordinance to authorize entering into a contract with MS Consultants Inc. for engineering services related to the Glenview Road culvert replacement project. The hope was to wait until summer to replace the culvert, but D’Apolito feels it needs to be done as soon as possible.

“We are partnering with the state to get the culvert replaced,” he said. “We want to do it as soon as possible, and we will continue to monitor the culvert in case the road has to be closed.”

Right now, one side of the road is closed and the culvert is monitored daily. To speed things up, the contract with MS Consultants will get the engineering started on the project at a cost not to exceed $91,000.

In other business, council:

• Unanimously agreed to declare a 2009 Dodge Avenger as surplus so it can be put up for auction. The vehicle was previously used by the zoning department.

• Held a first reading of a proposed ordinance regarding construction and bonding. A public hearing on the ordinance was set for 5:30 p.m. Feb. 4.

• Elected Christine Oliver as president of council for 2026.

• Witnessed the swearing in of new council members Schialdone and Anthony Nacarato by Mahoning County Canfield Court Judge Scott Hunter.