Canfield council approves road project

CANFIELD —In a 4-0 vote Canfield council approved an emergency ordinance today, allowing Foust Construction Co. of Youngstown to begin phase two of a North Broad Street safety upgrade.

Mayor William Kay, Councilmen Steve Rogers, Andrew Skrobola and John Morvay approved the ordinance. Council President Daniel Frazzini, who voted no on the ordinance at last week’s meeting, was not in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.

“We owe it to the public to finish this project,” Rogers said.

The second phase of a three-phase project will begin within the next couple of weeks, city Manager Joe Warino said. This phase will add a turning lane on North Broad Street between Skyline Drive and Dartmouth Drive. There will also be road extension, curbing, sidewalks and decorative lighting added. Warino said there will not be any detours involved. The total project cost is $805,281.49, of which 60 percent will be covered by a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission and the rest by the city.

Warino wants to make sure the second phase is complete before the winter weather arrives, which is why the ordinance needed to be approved at Tuesday’s meeting.

“I believe that this project benefits the city in a whole and this project should move forward,” Morvay said. “We have had disputes about the way the contractor bid, but in the long run it needs to go forward to benefit the city and its citizens.”

At last week’s meeting, Frazzini did not approve the ordinance, he said, because of issues the city has had in the past with Foust Construction. Rogers said with the city engineer and city manager involved in the project, there will be people overseeing the work.