Tuesday, October 10th, 2017
Coldwater street resurfacing stalls
State routes 118 and 219 should have been paved by now, village official says
By Georgia Rindler
COLDWATER - Contractor delays have stalled completion of the state road resurfacing project within the village.
Village administrator/engineer Eric Thomas told council members on Monday night that the Ohio Department of Transportation's paving project for state routes 118 and 219 had been set to have been completed by now. The ODOT contractor has encountered several delays, which put the project behind schedule. Thomas said when work resumes, the intersections will be finished and 50 feet of Oak Street will be replaced in each direction from State Route 219.
Thomas reported work on the water line extension project to connect the water main from Ruby Lane to Buckeye Drive should begin later this month. A $27,580 bid was accepted from Shinn Brothers Inc. of Celina. The money will come from the village water fund.
He also said ODOT had evaluated the speed limit on Burkettsville-St. Henry Road between State Route 219 and Menchhofer Road. A resident had called, asking if the speed limit could be reduced in that area. Thomas then contacted Mercer County Engineer Jim Wiechart, who referred the issue to ODOT. The results of the evaluation calculated the proper speed at 53 mph.
"Pursuant to the study, the only way ODOT would warrant a reduction would be if it calculated out to 49 mph or less," Thomas read from the engineer's office's explanation. "It's not our road. We did what we can do. We asked them to take a look at it. They did. At this point in time, the ODOT study says it's correct where it's at."
Thomas was told that since the area was being developed, another study could be done in a year or two.
Mayor Joe Knapschaefer recently attended a mayors' meeting. He said Mike Barhorst of Sidney called the meeting and invited about 20 mayors from the area.
"It was very good. I got some good ideas out of it," Knapschaefer noted. "Eric and I are working on a couple of things that came out of that meeting."
A second meeting has been tentatively scheduled for March.
Thomas said the new sonic device for algae control installed on pond 3 less than two weeks ago is working very well. Village officials will continue to monitor the pH levels.
Also on Monday, council members,
• met in executive session for 21 minutes to discuss personnel. No action was taken afterward.
• learned leaf pickup is ongoing.
• heard from Thomas that work on the amphitheater continues.
• learned one more limb pickup will be held in November.
• set a finance committee meeting for 6:15 p.m. Oct. 23.
