(Posted Aug. 18, 2020)
By Josephine Birdsell, Staff Writer
West Jefferson village council approved a $55,200 contract with Choice One Engineering to redesign a portion of Lilly Chapel Road.
Set for reconstruction is roughly a quarter-mile of road, from Garfield Avenue to the fork in the road at West Jefferson Kiousville Road and Merriman Drive. Plans include replacing all asphalt and putting in new curbs, gutters, sidewalks, driveway approaches and drainage.
Choice One Engineering estimates they will have the design work completed by Jan. 1, 2021. The village will then take bids from construction companies. The village expects to choose a construction company sometime in February and to break ground on construction by April 1. Construction is to be finished by mid- to late-September 2021.
The entire project, including design and construction, is estimated to cost approximately $795,000. The village is set to pay approximately $405,000 of the cost out of pocket. A grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission will cover $195,000. The village will take out a zero-interest loan from the state to cover the remainder of the cost.
The cost and timeline could change slightly depending on who is hired to do the construction work, said John Mitchell, West Jefferson’s director of public service, at village council’s Aug. 17 meeting.
“Slowly, we’ll go through and (fix) all the roads,” said West Jefferson Mayor Ray Martin, “because they need to be (fixed).”
In other news, the village is renovating the old senior center for use by the village’s building department. The center was located in a portion of village hall at 28 E. Main St.
The plan is to install new flooring, phone jacks and computer drops in the building, as well as construct an L-shaped wall near the front door to split the entry room into two sections. Crews will add new windows, remove corrugated metal from the outside of the building, and install insulation and paneling.
The renovations are estimated to cost $25,000. All money for the renovation is to come from the village’s general fund.
Work is set to begin in the next two weeks, once the senior center moves out of the building and into their new location. Construction is estimated to take six to eight weeks, after which the building department can move into the space.
The renovation will accommodate growth in the village’s building department, Martin said. The new senior center building, located at 174 E. Main St., can better accommodate seniors by offering better storage spaces, he added.
