Canfield council approves storm-sewer contract

The project is designed to relieve flooding in the
neighborhood.

CANFIELD — City council approved a construction contract to begin a long-awaited storm sewer project on Hilltop Drive.

But not all council members approved of awarding the contract to Foust Construction. The vote at Wednesday’s meeting was 5-2, with council members Daniel Frazzini and Steve Rogers casting dissenting votes.

Foust Construction has done work for the city before, council members explained, with recent work on the South Broad Street beautification project.

That project included streetlights, curbs and gutters, some storm sewers and landscaping, Frazzini said.

But the work wasn’t done in accordance with the contract, and there were other problems as well, said Frazzini, Rogers and council president Andrew Skrobola after the meeting.

Driveway approaches to residents’ homes weren’t installed to the correct size, Frazzini added. Landscaping on both sides of the South Broad Street right of way wasn’t done, he said. The company let weeds grow and didn’t water the grass, he said.

He also said a new curb and gutter on South Broad Street is cracked.

Resident complaints

“We lost trust,” Rogers said. “We’re both concerned about them pulling this [the storm water project] off.” He and Frazzini said they’ve received many complaints from residents.

The council members said, though, that Foust agreed at a recent meeting to fix all the problems. The company was professional, and provided good references from other communities it has worked for, they said.

Skrobola said the storm water project, which is designed to alleviate flooding in the neighborhood, is long overdue to begin. “We have to get going,” he said.

City Engineer Gary Diorio said the work should begin in the next few months. It is phase one of the project, which will eventually include Skyline and Neff drives and Callahan Road.