Thursday, May 25, 2006
Documents for the work didn't include anything on the zoning permit.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The contractor building the city's major water tank in Austintown is doing so without a required township zoning permit.
MS Consultants of Youngstown failed to include a required $15,600 zoning permit from Austintown in bid documents for the nearly $3 million project, said Gene Leson, Youngstown Water Department's chief engineer.
The Mahoning County Building Department, which received a building permit fee of about $800 for the tank, notified the city and township that the permit fee to Austintown wasn't in the project's documentation, said Leson and Mike Kurilla, the township's zoning inspector.
The Youngstown Board of Control was to meet today to approve paying the $15,600 to Austintown for the zoning permit.
MS officials thought the zoning permit wasn't needed because the tank is a government project, Leson and Kurilla said.
John Pierko, the consulting firm's vice president of environmental services, was out of the office Wednesday and couldn't be reached.
'Made a mistake'
"MS just made a mistake," Leson said. "Our consultant missed it."
Since it began constructing the tank Jan. 16, CB & amp;I Constructors Inc., the Netherlands-based company hired by the city for the job, has done so without the required township permit, Leson said.
Until the board of control approves paying for the permit, one won't be issued by Austintown, Leson said.
"The contractor doesn't have the money to get it," he said. "The township's not holding it up."
Last month, the board of control approved paying MS up to $76,516 for revisions to the original tank contract.
The original contract called for MS to receive $36,357 for design, construction management and on-site inspection of the project.
The city hired CB & amp;I in June 2005 to build the 1.5 million-gallon water tank for $2,833,000. The board approved $10,021 in change orders for the job last month, and is expected to pay $15,600 for the permit today.
The tank replaces a 125,000-gallon structure on Kirk Road, near the new tank, and a 500,000-gallon tank on Dunlap Drive, also in Austintown.
The large tank can be seen from about a mile away. If the weather cooperates, tank construction will be finished this year, Leson said. If the weather delays the work, CB & amp;I will finish the project in spring 2007, he said.
The tank would increase water storage and pressure for water department customers in Austintown, Canfield and Jackson townships. The tank also would allow the city to expand its water service to the southwest.
skolnick@vindy.com