Sewer bids to proceed via council ordinance
By Jordan Cohen
The sewer improvement project cost is $500,000.
NILES — City council approved an emergency ordinance Wednesday to allow the bidding process to proceed on storm sewer improvements for Phase 2 of the Stevens Park Watershed.
Council was forced to schedule the special meeting after being limited to a first reading of the legislation last week because six votes are required for emergency approval and only five members were present.
Mark Hess, the city’s grant and development coordinator, had purchased newspaper advertisements under the assumption the ordinance would pass last week. Hess scheduled bid openings for Dec. 8, so council had to act before Thanksgiving to meet deadlines. The legislation passed unanimously.
Hess said the $500,000 project includes installation of tributary sewer lines in the areas of Spruce Court, Sophia Court and Bonnie Brae Avenue.
Hess said $335,000 of the cost was funded through a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission. The project’s first phase, installation of a sewer trunk line, was completed earlier this year.
Among other actions by the council:
UApproved a resolution in support of a $70,000 grant application for the Mahoning River Revitalization Initiative, which will examine development possibilities for nine communities along the river.
UGranted permission for the zoning inspector to issue permits for the second phase of the Park Place Villas Project, consisting of units for the elderly.