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Richwood Village Council displeased with paving bids
May 13, 2009 at 7:24 am
By SHERRYL SHEETS
Paving village streets was a hot topic at the Richwood Village Council meeting Monday night. Scott Jerew was absent from the meeting.
Bids were opened earlier in the day for a paving project to resurface Gill Street. Council applied for CDBG (Community Development Block Grants) from the Union County Commissioners in 2007 to help with the cost. Four bidding packets were picked up, one was returned and of the three active prospects, only one company submitted a bid. The Gill Street project was approved.
Another bid was available for paving Brookins, Hastings, Phillips, Plummer and Walnut streets. Again, only one bid was received and it came in over the 20 percent above estimation.
Council members were surprised by the lack of interested in companies wanting to work.
“With the economy the way it is, I can’t believe more companies are not interested in the job. We need to find out what the roadblocks are in the bidding process,” stated Von Beal, council member.
George Showalter mentioned that maybe the companies are going for larger jobs, such as in the Columbus area, where they can make more money on larger projects.
“We have money budgeted to fix our streets, but can’t find anyone interested in the job,” said Lin Hensley, village administrator.
Hensley reported to council that he has received a quote of $1,475 for sweeping the downtown streets once a month, since the village does not have a street sweeper. Monies in the state highway fund will pay for sweeping North and South Franklin, West Ottawa and East Blagrove streets. Other side streets can be cleaned and would incur an additional hourly charge. Hensley will contact the company to set-up a sweeping schedule.
Richwood Police Department will be handling the zoning issues of tall or unmowed grass within the village. In previous years, a part-time person was hired during the spring and summer months to handle grass issues, but he is unable to work this summer. Police Chief Monte Asher reported originally that 17 properties were in violation. Of those, 15 are unoccupied properties and the other two have already complied to the ordinance. After much discussion, council passed an emergency measure to reduce the height of grass from 12 to eight inches and declared it as a zoning ordinance. Also included in the ordinance, was the removal of dangerous trees, shrubs and noxious weeds. Residents will be given 72 hours notice to comply with the new ordinance or the property will be mowed and the cost incurred will be assessed to the property taxes.
Asher also stated that there has been a rash of break-ins of cars and houses in the northern part of town. Police officers will be going door-to-door notifying residents to lock their vehicles, houses and windows. He also urged residents to report any thefts, break-ins or unusual activity immediately to the police.
In other business, council;
•heard from Hensley that a backwash pump at the water plant will cost $12,000 to fix;
•learned that the dehumidifer at the water plant is damaged and parts are not available to fix it. Hensley will get another opinion before making any major decisions to repair or replace it;
•heard that the five-year old John Deere skid loader had a repair bill of $1,100 to fix a continual problem, that was actually a factory default. A plastic plug was found in the bottom of the tank, which has caused thousand of dollars in repairs;
•heard from Chuck Hall of Floyd Browne, who is available to help the village with their wastewater system;
•listened to a resident on W. Ottawa St. who would like council to consider closing W. Blagrove St., between Hastings and Hays Sts. Council needs to look into legalities before making a decision;
•was told the North Union High School was granted a variance with limitations in regard to the school sign on N. Franklin St.;
•received calls about village water turning washed clothes various colors. The fire department held a training session at the fairgrounds last week, which stirred up sediment in the water lines temporarily;
•stated there will not be a meeting on Monday, May 25 due to the Memorial Day holiday.
Next council meeting will be held Monday, June 8, 7 p.m. at the administration office. Public is invited to attend.
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