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Street project funded in village
(by Dedra Cordle, staff writer - July 08, 2010)
Officials in the village of Urbancrest had two options in its street repair project - be aggressive or be really aggressive.
At their July 6 meeting, they voted in favor of doing the latter.
Because they chose the "more aggressive approach," George Groom, project manager for Stantec Consulting Services Inc. said they would be out to survey the work that is to be done on Third and Fourth avenues, as well as the alleys between Augustus Drive and John A. Cooley Drive.
The first schedule, or the "aggressive" approach, would have started the project in August, as they would have to wait for authority to begin from the Franklin County Commissioners. Franklin County recently granted the village $100,000 to go toward street improvements.
"I think as long as the weather cooperates, this project could be done by mid-November," Groom explained.
He told council members one of the reasons why it was important to get the project started was because the asphalt plants close in mid-November due to the cold weather, so if there is a project going on after that time, it is a "crapshoot" on whether it gets done on time or not.
"We don't like to gamble on that," he said. "Who knows what's going to happen with the weather. We want to get this project rolling. It's a small project that can be done by November."
Groom added that in addition to the road resurfacing, there are three or four places where the curb cuts need to be fixed, mainly around the catch basins.
On the subject of catch basins, council member Deborah Larkins-Jackson brought up the issue they have with rainwater not going into the catch basins. She said in the summer, the standing water that doesn't go onto the basins becomes the home of vermin and mosquitoes. Groom suggested they address that issue with the county, as it could possibly help the village get more grant money to fix the problem.
Phase one of the village's $250,000 street repair project began last year with upgrades to First, Second and Central avenues, as well as Main Street. They had requested an additional $248,000 grant from Franklin County in October to complete Phase two, but were denied the request in March. Groom said he spoke to Franklin County officials a little over a week ago, and they informed him they had a $100,000 grant for the village from their discretionary fund.
Because the village voted in favor of local authority, they will have to pay $30,000 up-front to begin the project, with the cost later being covered by the grant.
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