The Bedford City Council agreed to a few measures on Monday that would clear the way for the Bedford Municipal Pool to be ready to go for the summer season. The board approved the funding of a waterline replacement project on Ellenwood Avenue; this is the same line that brings water to the Bedford Municipal Pool.

Terrace Construction of Cleveland brought the lowest bid of the six companies in the running for the job. The company agreed to change out the waterline and also resurface the street for the price of around $424,000. This cost is well below the $513,000 the engineers had predicted it might cost. The waterline work will take place between Broadway Avenue and Kenyon Avenue.

City Manager Mike Mallis said they would like to see the project begin as soon as possible so the work can be completed well before the opening of the pool for the summer. Terrace Construction estimates the job will take about 60 days to complete.

The council also agreed to hire M&G Pools out of Twinsburg to open and close the pool this year, as well as provide weekly upkeep. The contract with M&G will be a around $11,000 this year, plus $127 per weekly visit, which is just a little more than the city had been paying previous years. The person the city usually works with to open and close the pool was unable to return this year. That person’s service along with the price of other seasonal staff cost the city around $10,500 a year.

Mallis said that since the pool has been sitting idle for a year (which is never good for a pool) he expects there to be possible issues with the reopening, and he said it would be money well spent to have a professional company on hand to address anything that comes up.

Mallis said the exact start date of the opening of the pool is still not certain, and it will probably hinge on what Governor Mike Dewine does as far as removing restrictions for those types of activities. However, Mallis said that if the city doesn’t start preparing now, the pool will not be ready once the time comes to use it.

Back in Familiar Surroundings

The council meeting, while still held virtually, saw many of the representatives back in the council chambers at City Hall for the first time in a year. Council has yet to formally announced the person who will be serving as the interim Ward 5 representative until elections in the fall.

The Ward 5 seat was vacated earlier this year when Representative Heather Rhoades stepped down due to health issues.

The board also approved funds for the design of the Union Street Resurfacing Project. The city drew up the plans for the resurfacing at a cost of $36,750, of which 60% will be covered by Cuyahoga County. The county, not the city, will be doing the actual resurfacing of Union Street. The work will extend from where the street begins at Broadway Avenue close to downtown all the way until it runs into Broadway again at the southern end of the city. The total cost of the resurfacing work will be around $750,000, with Bedford responsible for just 20% of that price tag. Mayor Stan Koci mentioned that this is something the community has waited a long time to have completed.

Ward 6 Representative Don Saunders asked Mallis about any word from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) concerning the Northfield Road bridge. Mallis said that they have met with ODOT recently and that the agency has done some survey work, which he said is a good sign. He said ODOT assured the city that addressing the condition of the bridge is on their list of concerns. Mallis said once he hears of a timeline of what needs to be done, he will let the board know.

In the meantime, Saunders warned pedestrians to make sure they do not lean on the shaky fence as they cross the bridge. He also said he recently saw someone trip on the uneven pavement. He warned that the work on the bridge needs to be done soon and said the more that time goes by, the more costly the bridge will be to fix.

In other business:

* Mallis said the city’s chipper service will be started up again the first full week of April

* Finance Director Frank Gambosi said the city tax department will not be giving face-to-face help again this year due to the pandemic, put taxpayers can drop their W2s off at City Hall or mail them in during the next few weeks, and the tax department will process the forms. They will then send out bills to the taxpayers in time for them to pay their taxes by the due date of April 15.

* Ward 2 Representative, Walter Genutis reminded residents about the noteworthy history of the Bedford Garden Club, and that this time of year is a great opportunity to join the club. You can visit their Facebook page at http://www.bedfordgardenclub.com/

* Ward 4 Representative Paula Mizsak complemented the city on the newly installed automatic doors at City Hall, and said that residents have noticed and are thankful.