City of Marysville officials are asking residents to speak up if they see pot holes.
At Monday night’s city council meeting, City Engineer Jeremy Hoyt said crews are working to patch potholes reported by residents or seen by officials.
In an interview, Hoyt expressed concern over the effect of this year’s winter on the city’s roads. With the extreme swings in temperature in the last month, this winter could prove harder on roadways than in past years.
The inconsistent weather would be rough on any infrastructure, Hoyt said, and that include roads.
According to Hoyt, officials have already gotten reports of pot holes on U.S. 33. He said holes on those higher speed roads are the city’s priority.
“That’s where some damage can be done,” Hoyt said.
In any case, Hoyt said the city will deal with whatever is thrown at them, and make repairs accordingly.
“It is what it is,” Hoyt said.
Hoyt said the easiest way to get a hold of city staff regarding pot holes is to email them at publicservice@marysvilleohio.org.
“We see a lot of them when we’re out driving around, but it never hurts to have a lot more eyes on our roads,” Hoyt said.
Hoyt also told council about a project for a parking lot at the south end of Lewis Park. The work will increase the size of the parking lot, bringing the total number of spaces from about 13 to about 35.
The southern portion of the track will also be moved to make room for the parking lot.
“As contested as parking is at that park, we think this is going to be a great addition to our park system,” Hoyt said.
Councilperson Henk Berbee asked what the damage was at the Schwartzkopf Park baseball fields as a result of the recent flooding in the county. He noted that last year’s flooding caused considerable damage to the facility.
According to Hoyt, there’s “no real damage” to the fields. Though he said since much of the field was still under snow, officials haven’t been able to fully assess the damage.
Hoyt said there was flooding at the park that “generated quite a bit of debris,” so crews have been cleaning out the area.
Hoyt also said this past weekend’s snow resulted in 83 operator hours and 94 tons of salt. That brings the season total to 1,346 operator hours and 966 tons of salt.
City Finance Director Justin Nahvi also told council about the city’s yearly tax return assistance program.
The due date for returns is April 15. He said this year the city will have extended income tax office hours on certain days in April.
Those are Thursday, April 4 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, April 6 from 9 a.m. to noon.; Wednesday, April 10 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturday, April 13 from 9 a.m. to noon.
During those times, residents can come in an have a staff member prepare their taxes for them. The service is free, Nahvi said.
“Our tax preparers will process those returns for them,” Nahvi said.