County asks workers to be frugal with heat
The company that built the bridge is now going to fix it.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- Mercer County employees are being asked to be "frugal in the use of thermostats" in view of a projected $30,000 increase in the price of natural gas to heat the courthouse during the winter.
On Thursday, Mercer County commissioners approved NYMEX gas consortium prices for the winter, which are projected at $64,000, about double last winter's costs. The courthouse is the only county building large enough to qualify for consortium membership. The consortium buys bulk gas at a cheaper rate and includes most county school districts, some churches, Thiel College and some businesses, according to county Controller Tom Amundsen.
He said the consortium wanted to lock in the new rates before they go any higher. The approval locks in the rates until March. He said he hopes that in January or February the price will drop and costs will be lower for the rest of 2006.
To deal with rising gas costs, Commissioner Olivia Lazor said employees are being encouraged to turn the heat down. Under the new heating system installed during courthouse renovation, each office can control its own heat.
Oakland Viaduct
Also Thursday, representatives from the Shenango Valley Ministerial Association thanked commissioners for reaching a settlement on the long-closed Oakland Viaduct in Sharon. The group, led by Rev. Joseph Davis, president, had planned a prayer vigil for the project on the courthouse grounds Thursday before the announcement that work would officially resume today.
They had also collected more than 500 names on petitions urging resolution to the problem. The Rev. Mr. Davis said the group had been holding prayer vigils every Friday for reopening of the bridge, closed four years while it was determined who was responsible for correcting the misalignment problem that made the partly rebuilt span unusable.
Commissioners officially signed papers Thursday ratifying the takeover agreement with the bridge contractor's bonding company, Fidelity & amp; Deposit, Baltimore.
Original contractor
The surety will take over responsibility and has chosen the original contractor, Carmen Paliotta Contracting of Library, Pa., to finish the bridge. Cost of the bridge is being paid by federal and state sources.
Once the remaining money under the original contract is paid, the surety is obligated to pay for whatever is needed to finish the project. Commissioner Brian Beader commented the county has spent no money on the bridge.
Joe Hilko of Hermitage asked commissioners why "the contractor who couldn't do it right the first time" is doing it now.
Beader replied that it would have taken longer to restart the project if another contractor were hired. He added that the county has reserved the right to seek damages from the contractor once the bridge is completed.
Lease approved
Commissioners also approved a lease with Hick's Office Plus, 1920 E. State St., Hermitage, for 10 new copiers at a price of 0.0148 cents per copy for 2 million copies, or $29,600 per year.
Also Thursday:
UCommissioners approved a $473,199 agreement for construction engineering, design and other services for the bridge on Chestnut Street, Grove City. The bridge, which is closed, will be demolished in 2006 and probably will not be rebuilt until spring 2007, according to Mark Miller, county engineer.
UCommissioners hired the following as part-time correctional officers for the Mercer County Jail, all at $10.58 per hour: Michelle Deep and Arlene Silvis of Hermitage, Anthony Gioan of West Middlesex, Robert Greimann II of Wheatland, Jeremy Grundy and Monica Kulka of Mercer, Sean McArthur of Sandy Lake, Robert Novak of Polk, Neil Perample of Grove City, Jamie Stanley of Enon Valley and Danette Thomas of Sharon.