At the Bedford City Council meeting on Feb. 20, the board approved a recommendation by the Bedford Planning Commission to subdivide a one-lot parcel in Tinkers Creek Commerce Park into six separate industrial development lots. Liberty Development Inc. had requested the subdivision of the 27-acre lot into the smaller lots.
Soon afterward, the council approved the construction of two 100,000-plus-square foot industrial/manufacturing facilities by LDC Construction at the commerce park. Mayor Stan Koci announced that the two businesses planning to build the facilities at the park are Cleveland Tank and Supply and the Lakeshore Electric Corp.
Lakeshore Electric is currently located on Willis Street in Bedford, and according to Koci, needs the new space because it is running out of room at its current facility. Cleveland Tank and Supply will be new to the Bedford area, and according to Koci, will be bringing with it a “bunch of jobs” to the city.
Koci said they are both family-run businesses and solid industry that the community can get behind. He said the businesses will be clean as far as they are not the kind of facilities that will put any smoke or pollutants in the air.
Earlier in the meeting, Koci presented honors to two individuals in the council chambers in front of a sizable audience (for a council meeting.) Koci first did the swearing-in of Sergeant David Kempski to the Bedford Police Department. After the swearing-in. Kempski’s two young sons, Dylan and Landon, participated in putting their father’s badge on his uniform. Kempski had many family and friends in attendance.
Next, Koci read a proclamation honoring Joshua Armstrong, a member of Bedford Troop 399, who was given the recent distinction of Eagle Scout. According to the proclamation, Armstrong’s Eagle Scout project was to build a gated fence around the AC unit at Bible Baptist Church to prepare for when the church orders it new unit. Armstrong introduced a number of people who were there supporting him, including some fellow scouts.
Council later approved another motion allowing for any emergency funds needed for unforeseen issues during the refurbishment of the pool house at the municipal pool. City Manager Mike Mallis said they televised the main sewer line that goes to the facility, and runs underneath the building, and found that it had failed in multiple places. Since the interior walls of the pool house are already torn down, Mallis said they recommend that now is the best time to replace the entire sewer line. He said they will need to cut into the floor to accomplish this.
With the additional emergency funds the council approved for the pool house project, there will now hopefully be no delays in the completion of the refurbishment.
The council also agreed to enter into a contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation for the resurfacing of Broadway Avenue from one end of the city to the other. Mallis said the total cost of the resurfacing is $4 million, with the city responsible for paying $1.296 million of the total including redesign costs. Mallis said roughly $650,000 of the funds the city will use to pay for the project with come from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds along with funds from the city’s annual road program.
Mallis stated that it only took a short time before the Flock cameras on the town’s border have come in handy. There was a shooting in Maple Heights, and the camera at Turney Road and Lee Road South was able to read the license plate of the suspect’s car leading to an arrest.
“I honestly think it was within one week of those cameras being up and running that they’ve already proven valuable,” said Mallis. The 16 Flock cameras were recently purchased for around $40,000 and were placed around the main entryways to the city to aid in apprehension of criminals in situations similar to the one highlighted.
Mallis commended the first responders, who just the day before the council meeting, went to help in the deadly explosion that took place at I. Schumann & Co. metal company in Oakwood Village. The responders included units from Bedford.
Later in the meeting, Ward 6 Rep. Don Saunders asked Mallis if the city had any plans set if a train derailment, like the one that happened in East Palestine, Ohio, occurs in Bedford. Mallis responded that safety agencies have indeed discussed various situations and there are plans in place that include items such as securing a site, rerouting traffic and notifying the public of possible dangers. Mallis said the city would also rely heavily on advice from the Cuyahoga County Office of Emergency Management.
