By Andrew Walsh
awalsh@wbcowqel.com
The residents of Jeffrey Drive in New Washington have a new street, and they are not happy with it. A new type of chip and seal was enacted on the street behind St. Bernard’s and the results so far have not been good. Add to that the fact that when the street was swept many of the stones were tossed into residents’ yards and onto driveways and the source of their displeasure becomes evident.
“I’ve never been personally so embarrassed to live on a street,” Councilwoman Gert Durnwald said. She added that the residents of the street are asking for a coat of blacktop.
Paul Forster quickly chimed in that he has been thinking about this and had, “made up my mind before the meeting,” that something would have to be done.
Forster sought permission from council to approach Kimmerline for a quote on correcting the work that had been done. He also pointed out that the chip and seal job that was done is not to blame. The mistake was in applying this job to a street that receives so little traffic; the instances in which Forster has seen this method of success are on much higher traffic roads.
Mayor Ben Lash stated, “We weren’t trying to give anyone a hard time.”
Lash further elaborated that with “limited funds” they were trying something new. “We shouldn’t have done anything and waited till next year.”
The plan is to have a bid to consider at the next meeting.
In related business, council approved the mayor and clerk to enter negotiations with the Ohio Public Works Commission to acquire the grant money for next year’s paving. The plan is to pave Washington Street from East to Foote, and Orchard Street from Center to Foote. These projects are already engineered and as such would present no new costs to the village.
Council is considering ways to create the best possible solution to the bird noise problem currently going on in town. Residents have been complaining for some time now about birds, owned by a member of the community, and the noise that these birds have been creating.
While nothing official was decided, Lash did state his intention to produce, “the best resolution for the whole town.”
Plans for upgrading the bath house at the New Washington Park pool are ongoing. Forster met with John Cronau of Studer-Obringer to discuss plans they had drawn up last year. These blueprints did not contain provisions for a dressing room, and new plans would while providing for roofing for the whole facility. The plans without the dressing room accommodations would cost $49,000 while the add-ons would cost an additional $46,000. Forster and Cronau plan to meet again to discuss less expensive options.