Commissioners OK road work in northern Richland County
The Richland County commissioners spent the better part of their meeting Thursday approving contracts and equipment purchases for several departments including the county engineer, wastewater, and Dayspring, the county's assisted living center. The largest dollar amount was for the Engineer’s Office for some summer road work.
Commissioners approved a $1,044,196 contract with Earthworm Construction of Iberia for cold constructed asphalt paving on 12.9 miles of roads in the northern part of the county. The project includes work on Olivesburg-Fitchville, Franklin Church and Adario West roads.
County Engineer Adam Gove explained that cold constructed asphalt is a more open type of resurfacing because it is a little more pliable than regular asphalt paving. He said the emulsion is heated when you put it on, but it’s not heated up as a whole mixture.
Gove said the choice between using C-CAP and the usual chip and seal process depends on the condition of the road and the amount of traffic it carries.
“Chip and seal surface is more of a maintenance treatment that you want to put down on a road that doesn’t need a lot of repair work,” he said. “The C-CAP surface is going down on roads that are in pretty bad shape. We need to cover up some pretty bad imperfections with that and then put the chip and seal surface on top of the C-CAP.”
Gove said the lone bid from Earthworm was $950,234, which was just within the 10% state limit for over estimate. He said the rising cost of petroleum-based products played a role in the increase but also pointed out that the C-CAP process is “something a little out of the norm” of the services provided by other local contractors.
Commissioners also voted to advertise for bids for a bridge replacement project on Ganges Five Points Road just north of Chesrown Road in Franklin Township. The estimated cost for the project is $372,273, which Gove said is about 14.5% higher than a similar project two years ago.
Gove told the board that the completion date is set for late spring or early summer of 2023 so any potential contractor can get the work done this construction season or have enough time to get materials.
Commissioners reject generator bid
Commissioners also voted Thursday to reject the lone bid to install an emergency generator at a sewage lift station near the intersection of Ohio 39 and South Stewart Road that serves about 300 rural customers because the it was 38.4% over estimate. The board agreed to re-advertise the project and allocate additional American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for it after Wastewater Treatment Director Amanda Miller said the design engineer increased the cost estimate to $110,000 because of material shortages and the availability of labor plaguing the construction industry.
“I saw their memo indicates now, for material, their suppliers are only guaranteeing prices for hours — not days or weeks, but hours,” said Commissioner Cliff Mears.
Regarding other equipment purchases, commissioners voted to advertise for bids for a larger trailer for a sewer cleaning pipe hunter sidekick easement machine that was bought last year and to accept a $49,767 quote from Schmidt Security Pro for new computerized fire suppression controls to replace a 20-year-old system at Dayspring. The board also accepted a $43,480 quote from Standard Plumbing and Heating for a new 200-gallon water heater and storage tank for the county jail.
Employment issues, active shooter training discussed
During the commissioners quarterly department heads meeting, Job and Family Services Director Sharlene Neumann briefly outlined a new Ohio Rise Medicaid program that is designed to reduce costs and out-of-county placements for children up to age 18 who have behavioral problems. She also said she is working on ways to attract and retain employees, noting that she is competing for workers not only with other county social service agencies but also with surrounding counties.
“Some counties are doing recruitment bonuses and some counties are just pulling out all the stops trying to get employees,” Neumann said. “Competitive wage, with the price of gasoline and all the things that are happening in our community, that’s something we’re going to have to deal with at JFS to keep people.”
Both Neumann and Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Petrycki said they are either conducting or working to organize active shooter response training in light of recent mass shootings. Petrycki also told the board that he is working on ways to deal with unanticipated issues associated with a solar eclipse April 8, 2023, when Richland County will experience the totality.
Based on after actions from previous eclipses in other parts of the country that experienced totality, Petrycki said Richland County can expect four to five times the normal population for the event, which could potentially close I-71 and U.S. 30.
“It’s going to overwhelm our emergency response capability,” Petrycki said. “Your cell phones probably won’t work due to the number of people overwhelming the towers. GPS may not work. Radios may not work. So we have a lot of things to look at.”
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County commissioners discuss contracts, purchases, and more
