Friday, October 31, 2003
A new company was to begin work today on repaving portions of Route 422.
& lt;a href=mailto:wilkinson@vindy.com & gt;By D.A. WILKINSON & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- An irate businessman said politics were behind the Mahoning County commissioners' postponing action on his low bid for a paving contract.
"It's all political," said Walter Romano, the project manager for Cleveland Asphalt of Bessemer, Pa., which is owned by his wife. "They're following their political ambitions."
Commissioners postponed the scheduled awarding of a $47,429 bid Thursday to Cleveland Asphalt to repave Massachusetts Avenue in Poland.
In a separate move, the company and the Ohio Department of Transportation agreed Thursday to dissolve a contract the company had to repave portions of U.S. Route 422, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, West Rayen Avenue and Oak Street from the Girard border to the East Side.
A new contractor, Northern Ohio Paving of Twinsburg, was to begin work today on the project, according to ODOT spokeswoman Jennifer Richmond.
The commissioners' vote came after union members that said that Cleveland Asphalt had a poor performance and safety record.
Don Crane, president of the Western Reserve Building & amp; Construction Trades Council, asked the commissioners to consider the other bidders.
The other bidders were Butch & amp; McGree Paving of Hillsville, Pa., at $48,150, and Shelly & amp; Sands of Girard, at $54,158.
Crane said the information given to commissioners was complied from a variety of sources records.
Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock said the bids would be reviewed.
Romano said "Anyone in business has problems," adding that Cleveland's record was better than most companies.
The businessman said Cleveland and its nonunion workers have a right to work.
Settlement
The company will receive $200,000 for the work it completed for ODOT. The remainder, or about $400,000, will go to Northern Ohio.
Richmond said that Cleveland Asphalt was within its rights not to continue working on the roads since it could not protect its workers and would not be penalized.
It will take about 12 days to complete the state project, Richmond said.
A special rubber topping for West Rayen will not be added until next spring since it has to be applied in temperatures above 60 degrees. The delay won't increase the cost, Richmond said.
Cleveland officials said they moved their equipment back to Pennsylvania after it was vandalized earlier this month. When asked the damage estimate, Roman said, "Forty or fifty thousand dollars. Who the heck knows?"
Two of Romano's sons, Michael, and Thomas, were due in municipal court today for a pretrial on charges of assault and criminal damaging. They are accused of punching a union member and breaking his video camera Oct. 7.
& lt;a href=mailto:wilkinson@vindy.com & gt;wilkinson@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;