Paving project to be awarded soon in Conneaut

Jun. 5—CONNEAUT — Council could act as early as next week to award a contract for the city's 2024 paving program.

City Manager Nick Sanford said at a work session on Monday night a bid opening for the city's paving program took place on Friday.

The apparent low bidder for the core paving program was Koski Construction, he said. However, they did not submit a bid for a chip sealing project, Sanford said.

"The apparent low bidder on that contract was Geauga Highway Company, which I believe is who the city contracted with last year, so the city does have some history with Geauga," he said.

The city also used Koski Construction in previous years.

Sanford said a formal tabulation of the bids will be available soon, and a recommendation for which company to award the contract to will be on council's agenda for next week's meeting.

"I will press for a very quick schedule, to get them moving and in town," he said.

City Law Director John Lewis said the city is allowed to choose the lowest and best bid, not just the lowest.

In other business:

—Sanford briefed council on the next steps forward for the remediation of the Astatic property, adjacent to Broad Street.

He said the recommendation the city has received is to proceed with full demolition.

He said the engineering firm retained by the city will be testing the roof of the building for asbestos.

"The expectation early on was that there is," Sanford said. "The building was constructed in the 70s, it was common they had asbestos in the tar paper."

The city received a $1.2 million grant in mid-2022 from the state to remediate the site.

The remediation will be covered by the grant, Sanford said.

—The city has received a request to donate city-owned property on Madison Street to the Ashtabula County Land Bank.

Sanford said an adjacent property owner is interested in acquiring the city-owned property, and a vacant lot.

Jennifer Hoover, the city's planning and zoning manager and council clerk, said the land bank reached out to the city and asked what they were doing with the property, and if they would be interested in donating it to the land bank.

—Sanford said the city will be applying for grant funding from the state for ADA-compliant parking, to be located near playground equipment installed at the Liberty Street Park.

The usual deadline for the applications are June 1, but the deadline has been postponed due to the status of the state's budget.

"So we have a little bit more time to put together a good scope and a good application, but that's what going to go in," Sanford said.

Currently, there is just street parking in the area, and the curbs are high, he said.

Sanford's vision is for diagonal, ADA-compliant parking spaces off of School Street, with a slope going up to the playground.

"I want to also partner with the county Board of DD, like we did last year," he said.

—The city may be moving forward with a designated outdoor refreshment area (DORA), in response to a request from a local business owner for an expanded area to serve alcoholic beverages.

Mark Wheeler, one of the co-owners of Grandpa Pizzi's Place, had asked council if it would be possible to have an outdoor space on the restaurant's property where alcohol could be served.

Sanford said, after discussions with Lewis, the best solution was a DORA, which would include the harbor district.

He said the DORA would be regional, to the harbor district.

Lewis said the potential of creating a DORA was discussed soon after he started with the city, but no further action was taken.

According to the Ohio Department of Commerce's website, DORAs are exempt from certain open container provisions in state law. Patrons are able to purchase alcoholic beverages from a bar or restaurant, and leave the business with it.

Sanford said patrons will need to use a clearly marked type of cup to take an alcoholic beverage from a business, and Lewis said people cannot walk into another establishment with a cup from another business.

"It is regulated pretty well, I feel, so it doesn't create a free-for-all," Sanford said.

Councilperson Mariana Branch said they should consider placing additional trash cans in the area if they approve the DORA.