By Peter H. Milliken

milliken@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning County commissioners awarded a $1,026,944 contract Thursday for the resurfacing of 8.74 miles of roads to Diorio Paving Inc. of Girard.

The roads to be resurfaced include Walker Mill Road from the Interstate 680 bridge in Boardman to North Lima Road in Poland, Southern Boulevard between Indianola and Mathews roads in Boardman, and Kirk Road from Raccoon Road to state Route 46 in Austintown.

Other roads being resurfaced include Simon Road from Indianola Road to South Avenue in Boardman, Fifth Street from the Struthers city limit to Lyon Boulevard, and Clingan Road from U.S. Route 224 to the Struthers limits, both in Poland.

The commissioners also awarded a $305,280 contract to Hughes Contracting Inc. of Mogadore for chip-and-seal treatment of an additional 6.56 miles of county roads. The chip-and-seal process uses a tar-based material with stone on top.

Both contracts are funded half by an Ohio Public Works grant and half by local funds.

The county engineer’s office announced that, during the summer, its roadworkers are working a 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. shift, instead of their usual 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule, and they are being encouraged to drink plenty of fluids. The county provides them with water-filled jugs, but they must purchase any sports drinks or other fluids on their own, according to Kristin N. Barrett, the engineer’s office’s special-projects coordinator.

The commissioners appointed Linda A. Macala as executive director of the county’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, effective July 28, to succeed Phil Moore, who is retiring after 61/2 years as bureau executive director.

Moore’s annual salary is $66,600, but Macala’s new salary still must be negotiated.

Macala joined the county as a marketing specialist in May 2007 and now earns $42,735 a year as CVB’s assistant director.

The commissioners also ratified a wage re-opener that gives 15 employees of the county’s building inspection, microfilm and recycling offices, an 11 percent pay increase, but makes them pay their full 10-percent-of-salary employee Public Employees Retirement System contributions.

Until now, those employees, who belong to Communications Workers of America Local 4300, paid only one half of one percent of their salaries into PERS, and the county paid the rest of their share.

When the changes take effect next month, the hourly pay for these employees will range from $12.72 to $23.94.