Board expected to approve contract for street project

The board will also consider a contract for city hall improvement work.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's board of control is expected to approve a 1.78 million contract today to have a Liberty company reconstruct a portion of Division Street Extension to provide better access to the Ohio Works Business Park and V & amp;M Star.
Carmen S. Conglose Jr., deputy director of the city's public works department, is recommending the board hire A.P. O'Horo of Liberty. A.P. O'Horo submitted the lowest proposal among five companies seeking the work.
The project calls for the reconstruction of about 2,000 linear feet of the street on the city's North Side near Brier Hill. The street's surface has poor drainage and is too narrow and winding, Conglose said.
"The realignment is a way to enhance the safety of the street that has a great deal of truck activity," he said.
The improved street will make it easier for vehicles going to and from the city-owned business park and V & amp;M to get to the 711 Connector, Conglose said.
V & amp;M is contributing 434,269 toward the project that includes improvements to the company's parking area, he said. A portion of the company's current lot is going to be used for the realigned roadway.
Mahoning County is providing 35,743 for improvements to a county-owned bridge over the street.
The project will start either next month or in the spring and is expected to take 180 days to finish, he said.
City hall
Conglose also is recommending the board approve a 53,700 contract today with York-Mahoning Mechanical Contractors of Youngstown for mechanical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning work to the first floor of city hall.
This work will begin in two to three weeks and will take about two months, Conglose said.
In all, about 280,000 in improvements is planned for the first floor, with half of it going toward the remodeling of the mayor's office. The office hasn't been updated in about 40 years.
City officials and Ronald Cornell Faniro Architect Inc., a Youngstown firm hired to design and supervise the remodeling, are still reviewing proposals for the project's general contracting and electrical work. There is no time frame for awarding those contracts, Conglose said.
skolnick@vindy.com