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MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council Members/Department/Division Heads
FROM:
Douglas L. Lewis, City Manager
SUBJECT:
Weekly Update
PARRISH ROAD
RAIL GRADE SEPARATION PROJECT:
On Thursday, May 19, 2005, Mr. Joe Mayernick of Growth Partnership, Joe
Jarabek of Congressman Steve LaTourette’s Office, Ashtabula County
Commissioner Joe Moroski, Shawn Aiken of CT Consultants and I met with
executives of the industries along Parrish Road and ODOT to discuss and
resolve their concerns regarding the Parrish Road Rail Grade Separation
Project.
The meeting went
very well and we tentatively have an agreement from the industries
regarding modifications to the project in order to address their
concerns. The project engineer, E.L. Robinson, is making some design
changes to move this project forward. The changes to be made will be
presented to the City Council at the Work Session on June 20, 2005. In
summary, they are as follows:
1)
Dead end Maple Avenue at the embankment of the rail grade
separation project.
2)
Install a cul-de-sac or T so that trucks can turn around where
Maple Avenue dead ends.
3)
Address drainage and utility issues.
4)
Provide truck access to Maple Avenue via Brown Avenue.
5)
Examine signalization at Brown Avenue and Parrish Road.
6)
Widen the turn radius along Chamberlain Avenue to provide trucks
with a better access point.
7)
Obtain a cost to cure for access to docks. Provided by CT
Consultants to be negotiated during ROW acquisition.
8)
Provide curb cut for access of Fire Department along Parrish
Road.
We will keep you
updated once industries have reviewed and approved proposed changes.
SB 66 (STATE
BUDGET):
It is anticipated that the Senate will unveil a substitute versio of the
budget passed in the Ohio House in the near future. This bill is
important because it will impact local government funding, estate tax,
and other issues of importance in the budget.
WING
DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED:
Mr. Pete Wing has submitted a proposal to develop a manufactured home
community on U.S. 20 at Amboy Road. The plan contains 67 sites with
home, each approximately 1300 sq.ft. with attached garages. Mr. Wing
plans to sell the homes for $80,000 and then rent a site to the new
owners. Staff is awaiting the engineering plans and specifications which
are expected to be submitted by June 21, 2005. Upon reviewing the
plans, assuming modifications are not necessary, it will be presented to
the Planning Commission on July 5, 2005.
SKATE
PARK:
The footer for the turn style gate at the skate park was dug and the
concrete was poured on Thursday, May 12, 2005. The turn style donated by
Molded Fiberglass of Ashtabula was installed on Monday, May 16, 2005 by
Thomas Fence Company. Much thanks go to Mr. Glenn Thomas for
facilitating the donation of the turn style. In addition, we are
appreciative of Molded Fiber Glass’ donation to the City of Conneaut. We
plan to present them with a Certificate of Appreciate at an upcoming
Council Meeting.
BLISS AVENUE:
Ms. Lori Lamer, Law Director, and I met with the owner, David Horton, of
Advantage Towing and Salvage. Ms. Lamer proposed that the property
owners and Mr. Horton meet with a mediator to resolve their differences.
We were very impressed with Mr. Horton’s willingness to meet with the
property owner’s in order to address their concerns. A letter has been
sent to all parties proposing that mediation of their problems be the
next step to resolving any issues.
CLEVELAND
HOTEL:
On Friday, May 13, 2005, Mr. Walt Poff of Nova Star Reality and I
attended the grand opening and open house celebration for the Gardens of
Charleston located in Lorain, Ohio. During the festivities, we were able
to tour the facility and look at floor plans for the condominiums
incorporated in the development. The Gardens of Charleston was a
renovation project in the City of Lorain.
The developers plan
to develop the Cleveland Hotel in Conneaut. By passing the modifications
to the CRA on Monday, May 23, 2005, we have taken the necessary steps to
moving this project forward. As explained by Mr. Longwell, they plan to
close on the Cleveland Hotel on July 1, 2005. Work is anticipated to
begin shortly thereafter.
STATE ROUTE 7
PAVING PROJECT:
The partial depth along S.R. 7 have been completed. It is open and
ready for paving.
CENTER ROAD
PAVING PROJECT:
Center Road hill was paved on Friday, May 13, 2005.
U.S.
20 PAVING PROJECT:
Thanks to the combined work of the Public Works Department, the Water
Distribution Crew and the Wastewater Department, the 53 catch basins on
Route 20 were replaced and the work was completed on time. Twelve (12)
manholes have also been raised prior to paving. As you are aware, the
work had to be completed before Koski Construction begins scheduled
paving on June 1, 2005
CEMETERIES:
All seven (7) City cemeteries have been mowed and trimmed and are now
ready for the Memorial Day holiday.
MALEK PARK
EQUIPMENT GRANT:
The City of Conneaut was notified by the ODNR that it was awarded a
grant in the amount of $30,844 through the 11th round of the
NatureWorks program. Because the project was only partially funded, the
request for funding will carryover for consideration in Round 12. Only
the unfunded portion ($5,156.00) will be eligible for Round 12. It is
anticipated that Round 12 will be awarded in August 2005. The City of
Conneaut budgeted $12,000 in FY2005 as the 25% match for the project.
LOGAN/SLOGAN
COMMITTEE UPDATE:
Ms. Judy Yesso facilitated several meetings this past week with various
members of the community and staff. A number of excellent ideas were
presented and discussed. We are putting together a synopsis of the
information and will update Council at a later date. In addition, Ms.
Yesso and I will be holding one more focus group meeting with the
Chamber of Commerce to get their input.
POLICE
DEPARTMENT CALLS/ARRESTS/CITATIONS:
The Police Department has had a very busy week logging 515 service calls
from May 19 until May 26, 2005. Among these calls, were 59 traffic
stops, 18 traffic violations, 38 registration checks, 27 suspicious
activity calls, 16 thefts, 12 alarm calls, 11 animal calls, 11
burglaries and 14 juvenile complaints. In addition to these calls, the
Police Department issued 16 oversize/overweight citations.
SHUTOFF VALVE
INSTALLED:
A 6-inch shutoff valve was installed at the discharge end of the Center
Road Pump Station. This will enable us to isolate the pump station
without having to shut down at Underridge Road.
SEWER CAVE
INS:
This past week, the Wastewater Treatment Department replaced 12’ of 10”
sewer main line at 712 Sandusky Street. They did this with the
assistance of Northcoast Construction. They also dug up a sinkhole on
Detroit Street that resulted from a tap in made approximately five years
ago. The sinkhole was probably caused from settling and a water runoff
problem because there was no problem with the lateral or the main. To
date, there have been 8 cave-in repairs since this winter. Since January
1, 2005, the Wastewater Department has had 60 sewer calls, 17 plugs,
reamed 4,095 feet of sewer line, and jetted 8, 442 feet of sewer
line.
WASTEWATER
TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT:
The Wastewater Treatment Department along with CT Consultants and the
EPA met this past week on the progress of this project. The sludge
holding tank construction is on schedule. They are forming rebar and
putting up the wall panel forms for the bottom pour. The corners and
middle sections should be poured by June 9th. Construction on
the #3 digester should be occurring in the next few weeks with the
removal and demolition of the existing lid.
Dorman Road
and Woodworth Road lift station construction is scheduled to begin after
June 6, 2005. Dorman Road will be closed for a period of time while the
boring and installation of the sewer main is installed.
RAILROAD
CROSSINGS:
Ms. Lori Lamer, Law Director, sent out letters to each of the railroads
this past week. The purpose of the letters was to request that
improvements be made at the crossings.
MARINE
MEMORIAL PARK:
Mr. Jerry Vest of
CN recently informed me that the two Bessemer lots making up part of
Conneaut Marine Memorial Park would be transferred to the City of
Conneaut in exchange for the paving of Ford Avenue and the parking lot
utilized by CN. CN has agreed to purchase the asphalt if the City of
Conneaut provides the labor. The transfer will enable a monument and
the hulett bucket to be placed in the park.
THE OBVIOUS:
Obviously, if you are reading this, you are aware that we replaced the
carpet in the hallways of the 2nd Floor of City Hall. The
carpet was the original carpet and needed to be replaced because it was
stained and was stretched, thus creating a tripping hazard. Much thanks
goes to Conneaut Municipal Judge Tom Harris because without his
willingness to contribute the carpet would not have been replaced.
POSTMASTER FOR
A DAY:
On Friday, May 27, 2005, I had the opportunity to serve as the Conneaut
Postmaster for a two (2) hour period. It was very interesting to learn
the problems they face as well as how the mail is processed and the
technology being used by the United Stated Postal Service. It was a
great opportunity and much thanks goes to Postmaster Sally Mott and the
staff at the Conneaut Post Office.
Upcoming
Events – MARK YOUR CALENDAR:
Conneaut Fire
Station #3 Memorial Day Prayer Breakfast –
Sunday, May 29, 2005
at 9:00 a.m. at Conneaut Fire Station #3.
Memorial Day
Festivities –
Monday, May 30, 2005
at 10:30 a.m. beginning at American Legion to downtown to City cemetery
on Liberty Street.
Farmakis
Hearing:
Monday, June
6, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at Conneaut High School.
Conneaut Soap Box
Derby/Lighthouse Cruise and Dance:
June 17-18, 2005 on Broad Street. More information to be provided as
the schedule is finalized.
4th of
July Festival:
July 2-4, 2005 at Lakeview Park.
Household
Hazardous Waste Collection:
September 17, 2005 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Ashtabula County
Fairgrounds. |
