Oak Harbor: Village accepting bids for Park Street project

The Village of Oak Harbor is accepting contract bids for the reconstruction of Park Street until April 13.
The project will include the reconstruction of the street as well as installation of curbs and gutters, a five-foot-wide concrete walk, drive aprons, and storm sewer.
The project will cover Park Street, from Church Street to Locust Street, a distance of about 625 feet.
The estimated cost of the project is $390,000. The Ohio Public Works Commission is allocating $197,500 to help cover the cost.
Randy Genzman, village administrator, said the balance will be funded by gasoline and motor vehicle license taxes the village has accumulated in its permissive use tax account.
Village officials have set a tentative start date for the project at June 7 and a completion date of Aug. 21.
Genzman said the new sidewalks will be wider than the current four-foot-wide walks to meet federal regulations.
Also, a new dedicated storm sewer system will divert water from the existing combined sewer system to new storm sewers installed as part of the $9.2 million Church Street improvement project.
The change will help alleviate street flooding in the area and water in basements, he said.
“This project is a much needed improvement and investment in the village’s storm sewer and transportation systems,” Genzman said.
Project updates will be posted on the village Facebook page and other social media sites, he said.

Church St. project on schedule
Work on the sewer separation project along Church Street is on schedule with an expected completion date in July.
Genzman noted some of the village’s wastewater collection lines were installed in the 1880s and he described the project as “the most aggressive storm water separation project in the history of the village.”
The project also includes new fire hydrants, sidewalks and resurfaced roads throughout the downtown area.
“Helms and Sons Excavating continues to be very accommodating to the needs of the village,” he said. “There are several crews working the Church Street project at this time.”
The mainline crew continues to install new sanitary and storm lines as they approach Houghton Street and continue to S. Railroad Street. Once that is complete, a storm sewer on Oak Street will be installed.
“Each property will have a storm sewer tap as gutters, downspouts, sump pumps and the like will no longer be allowed to be discharged into the sanitary sewer,” Genzman said. “Property owners will be required to remove these from the sanitary sewer system.”
A $4.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a loan of just under $5 million are funding the project.