By Tim Cox
tcox@dailystandard.com Some of the city of Celina's most degraded and heavily trafficked streets are slated for complete reconstruction in the coming years.
About $3.5 million in Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) grant money is already committed to help pay for the nearly $6 million in projects.
City plans call for the reconstruction of Touvelle Street and Grand Lake Road. Buckeye Street also would be improved and storm drainage throughout the adjoining neighborhoods would be improved. The ODOT-assisted projects also include the current reconstruction of portions of Ash and Logan streets in downtown Celina.
All of the state-aided projects will be bid and contracted by the state. For its part, the city will match the 80 percent grants with in-house engineering and by committing city utility funds to replace water lines and beef up storm drainage on some of the streets. The cycle of projects runs through 2008.
The ODOT funding is locked in for all the projects, said Kent Bryan, Celina's community development consultant. City officials are hoping to secure Ohio Public Works Commission Issue II money to provide some matching money while about $250,000 is expected to be spent from general fund tax revenue to pull off the street improvements. The list of major street projects includes:
¥ The ongoing reconstruction of parts of Ash and Logan streets scheduled for completion in November. The $810,000 includes the rebuilding of the street surface on Ash from Market to Logan and on the single block of Logan Street runs between Ash and Main streets, along with some water main and electric improvements. ODOT contributed $550,000 toward the work and Issue II money provided another $220,000. The city spent $40,000 in general fund money designing the project.
¥ Reconstruction of Touvelle Street between Main and Summit streets. The $1.475 million project is slated to be done in 2006 with $840,000 in ODOT money and a pending grant of $350,000 from Issue II. The city would spend $75,000 in general fund money on engineering with another $210,000 in utility funds for water main and sanitary sewer improvements along the project route.
¥ Reconstruction of Grand Lake Road between Wayne Street and state Route 29. The $1.45 million project is scheduled for construction in 2007 with $940,000 in ODOT money and potential Issue II funding of $350,000. Plans call for the city to spend $75,000 in general fund money to design the project and $85,000 from the water fund for water main and storm sewer improvements.
¥ Reconstruction of Buckeye Street between Wayne Street and Myers Road. The $2.1 million project includes not only street rebuilding but also major storm drainage improvements. The work should vastly improve slow-draining water in the Buckeye, Johnson, Maple, Linden, and Willow street areas, Bryan said. ODOT is paying $1.25 million of the tab with city officials again hoping to secure $350,000 in Issue II grants. The city would spend $75,000 on in-house engineering and an estimated $233,000 from utility funds for other improvements.
The Buckeye Street project is contingent on city officials instituting a storm sewer surcharge on customers' utilities bills, Bryan said. The issue has been long talked about as state EPA officials increasingly push local governments to manage storm sewers as a separate utility.
Bryan said he plans to ask Celina City Council members sometime next year to consider the storm sewer surcharge. About $575,000 of the new storm sewer revenue would be necessary to help pay for the proposed Buckeye Street project.
City officials have projections for street reconstructions through 2016, although no grant funding has been secured for any of those. Tentative plans are to resurface Logan and Wayne streets in 2009, rebuilding the southern section of Walnut Street in 2010 before a two-year rebuild of Main Street in 2011 and 2012. |
