Companies hired for city hall renovation

YOUNGSTOWN — The board of control hired two companies to handle renovation of city hall’s first floor.

The board approved a $119,100 contract with Aberdeen Corp. Thursday to do the general contracting work on the project and a $36,537 contract with Tri Area Electric Co. Inc. to handle the electric work.

Both companies are based in Youngstown.

While there is no schedule, the work should begin in the next 30 to 45 days, said Carmen S. Conglose Jr., deputy director of the city’s public works department.

Aberdeen beat out five other companies for the general contracting job, while Tri Area was among five companies seeking the electric work.

The board of control approved a $53,700 contract Nov. 22 with York-Mechanical Contractors to have the Youngstown company handle mechanical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning upgrades on the first floor.

Half of the project is the remodeling of the mayor’s office, which hasn’t been updated in about 40 years. The other half is to the lobby, including painting, tile and terrazzo improvements and upgrades to the security metal detectors.

Also, the board of control approved spending $15,150 to make repairs to the marquee’s roof on the exterior of the city-owned 20 Federal Place, the former Phar-Mor Centre.

The roof was pierced by broken glass during an October fire at the building, Conglose said. Firefighters battling the blaze broke a window with glass landing on the roof, piercing its rubber exterior, he said.

The repairs cost $15,150, but the city expects its insurance company to reimburse it for the work, Conglose said.

The damage estimate to the building is still pending.

An overheated blower motor located in a drop ceiling caused a fire on the second floor, but most of the damage was water-related caused by the building’s sprinklers.

The water caused about $100,000 worth of damage to original art work at Ray Simon Arts, according to its owner Ray Simon.