LORAIN — Up to $2.85 million has been approved for water line work.
City Council members on Monday unanimously approved paying Toledo-based Jones and Henry Limited up to $1 million to do construction management, design and surveying for lines along Washington Avenue from Meister Road to West 22nd Street and Reid Avenue from West 5th Street to West 21st Street.
CT Consultants, which has locations in Ohio and West Virginia, will be paid up to $1 million for work along state Route 611 from Broadway to Oberlin Avenue. Up to $850,000 will be spent for work in South Lorain, including East 28th Street, East 36th Street, Homewood Drive and Tacoma Avenue, according to Safety/Service Director Robert Fowler.
The plan is to complete the design work before December, Fowler said. The lines are to be installed in February and the roads paved in March.
Fowler told Councilman Rick Lucente, D-6th Ward, that the tight timeline was why the work was contracted out rather than hiring additional Engineering Department staff to save money.
Lorain, under fiscal watch by the state since 2002, has cut about 185 city jobs in the last decade to eliminate deficits, primarily through attrition. Lorain has about 425 employees compared with about 610 in 2000 — a 30 percent decrease, according to Auditor Ron Mantini.
However, Fowler said more engineering work is being done in-house since Mayor Chase Ritenauer’s administration took office in January. He said a surveyor was recently hired for the department to provide more support for City Engineer Dale Vandersommen.
“Nobody looks out more for the city’s interest more than the city engineer,” Fowler said of Vandersommen. “He has a vested interest. He resides here.”
Contact Evan Goodenow at 329-7129 or egoodenow@chroniclet.com.
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