Oregon council approves bid for municipal complex improvements

By: 
Kelly J. Kaczala

    
        Oregon City Council recently approved the $459,309.75 contract bid of George Gradel Co., Toledo, to furnish labor, materials and equipment for the West Municipal Complex Site Improvements Project.
        “The project is just west of our recreation fields,” said Public Service Director Paul Roman at a Sept. 23 council meeting.
        The project consists of the construction of a regional wet detention pond, storm sewer, water quality structure, catch basins and the installation of a perimeter buffer mound on the city owned property west of Wolf Creek off Starr Extension.
        Council on April 9 authorized the City and The Moses-Schlachter Group, Inc., to enter into an agreement for the purchase of a 25 acre site for the expansion of both the Streets and Recreation facilities. Per the agreement, the city was required to construct a storm water pond to accommodate future phases of the Eden Park Subdivision and for future city facilities.
        “We were obligated to provide regional detention as a part of that property exchange,” said Roman. “At the same time, we want to prep this site for a future building for the Street Department, and needed detention for that building as well. We want to make it attractive. We want to put in walking paths and so on. This would provide drainage for that. It would also include putting in an access road.”
        Bidding on the project was very competitive, said Roman.
        “Gradel was the lowest and best bid.”
        The project was included in the approved 2019 budget.
       
Road salt
        Also at the meeting council approved the bid of Compass Minerals America Inc., Overland Park, Kansas, to purchase bulk de-icing salt for the upcoming winter season for snow and ice control.
        Roman said each year, Oregon joins the City of Toledo to receive bids for salt. “Both cities have dock space along the river. We have our salt delivered by ship.  
        “This year, Compass Minerals America was the lowest and best bid at $65.44 per ton delivered by ship to the Gradel Dock.
        .”We’ve paid a lot less in previous years. It’s a very high unit price,” said Roman. The item was budgeted with an estimated price of $50 per ton for 6,000 tons. The city will be getting 5,000 tons to get by per the unit price contract. He said 5,000 tons was enough to get by but usually when the price is lower the city purchases more de-icing salt.
        “In previous years, when it’s low, we bought more. Last year we didn’t buy any salt because we had a huge surplus to get us through the year.”
        Council President Dennis Walendzak asked Roman if there was any salt left over from last season. Roman said the city currently has 1,500 to 2,000 tons left over. An average winter uses 3,000 to 4,000 tons of salt and a really band winter uses 5,000 tons.
        “We think we have enough,” said Roman.
       
Waterline
        Council also approved an ordinance to submit an application for Water Supply Revolving Loan Account Funds through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance.  The ordinance was needed to submit a loan application to the Ohio EPA to finance a waterline improvements project. Roman said the project consisted of two parts: Replacing the Starr Avenue Extension waterline between Wynn and Stadium roads and adding a waterline to what used to be the Norden Road right-of-way between Cedar Point Road and Bayshore Road to add pressure to the South Shore Park area.
        The cost is estimated at $1 million.
        “We all know we had rate increases. But the bulk of the increases were to pay for these projects. We can do more of them. Our goal is to do $1 million worth of work each year on similar projects using the loans,” he said.
        Roman added that the project is not regional enough to get OPWC funding but it was clearly eligible for a low interest loan through the EPA.
       
       
       

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