Tidewater Grill owner Ralph Shapot has asked city and county officials to pay for heating and air conditioning unit filters he says are necessary because of construction at a dually operated water treatment plant in Havre de Grace. The cost is less than $300.

Shapot made his request at the July 17 monthly public information meeting about the project. City and county officials began holding the meetings after the Havre de Grace business community complained about a lack of information before construction began.

Shapot told the group his repairman said dust from earth removal at the site necessitated that filters be changed earlier than usual. Project manager Dave Pergrin, a civil engineer with the Harford County Department of Public Works, said he would take Shapot’s concerns to Albert Mauger, vice president of Wickersham Construction and Engineering, the company in charge of the project.

Shapot also asked that consideration be given to stopping bedrock removal during lunc He asked that other activities, such as the less noisy dirt removal, be undertaken from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Pergrin said he would take the request to the contractor.

Shapot’s earlier request to halt construction activities during the traditional lunch hour was denied in June, in a letter co-authored by Harford County Executive Davd Craig and Havre de Grace Mayor Wayne Daugherty. The Tidewater Grille is adjacent to the water treatment plant and has a large outdoor dining area, which Shapot says is disrupted by construction activities and negatively impacts his business.

Pergrin told the group, which included representatives of Harvre de Grace businesses, the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street program, that bedrock removal will continue through the first week of August. The foundation is designed to sit slightly below zero elevation, and about 15 feet of dirt and rock have been removed, resulting in a pit now at sea level depth.

About hitting bedrock, he said, “It’s one thing you can’t see until you get down to it.”

Pergrin also said that he and Mauger are awaiting Maryland Department of the Environment approval to relocate the gate on a fence surrounding the construction site at the bottom on Franklin Street. By relocating the gate, noise and traffic from construction vehicles will be moved farther from the Tidewater Grill and the back porch of MacGregor’s Restaurant, which is also adjacent to the site.

Havre de Grace tourism director Brigitte Layton told the group that 16 large blue and white signs pointing tourists to downtown parking have been erected in place of and to supplement smaller, less visible signs. At Shapot’s request, she agreed to look into placing a sign to direct tourists to parking spaces around the construction site. Construction has removed most, but not all, parking spots available along the waterfront, where downtown’s largest parking lot once was situated.  City and county officials said the project should be completed in the fall of 2009, when many of the parking spaces will once again become available.

The next information meeting is scheduled for Aug. 21, at 3 p.m. at Havre de Grace City Hall.