Bedford City Council approved two contracts at its meeting Monday dealing with the topic of sewage; one contract for how the waste water travels to the treatment plant, and the second for what happens to it when it gets there. The meeting was broadcast on the city’s YouTube channel because of Covid-19 restrictions. Visit the video link of the complete meeting by clicking here.
The council gave the go-ahead for a contract with United Survey, Inc. for $133,932 to clean and inspect sanitary sewers in the southern parts of the city. The streets affected are the ones in the Paul Street area between Northfield Road on the west and Broadway Avenue and Union Street on the east, and from Forbes Road north to Old Egbert Road. City Manager Mike Mallis said the last time an extensive project like this was completed was in the late 1990s, and the area to be worked on was a particular concern now.
“We are going to clean and televise those lines and obviously we will locate issues,” Mallis said. “I’m certain we will locate issues and we’ll be able to then have an area to pinpoint to correct those in the future — proper planning instead of us having to continually have to chase issues.”
The project will be funded completely by a Cuyahoga County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
The council also approved a contract with JGM Valve to purchase a Vaughan chopper pump for $20,328 to be used at the Bedford Waste Water Treatment Plant. According to the website, www.chopperpumps.com, the chopper device is a centrifugal pump able to slice up all incoming solids prior to pumping. The waste is then sent from there to the digester tanks which is where organic matter is broken down by the process of fermentation. The purchase is part of the overall upgrade plan for the treatment plant that began in 2014, and it was budgeted for this year.
The board agreed to levy assessments toward those owners of parcels in the city that have not been cutting their grass and have been considered delinquent in doing so. According to Mayor Stan Koci, the fine for not cutting your grass is $200, and it is not one he particularly likes to collect.
“Please cut your grass,” he said. “That is all this is about. … We don’t want to be collecting the money. It comes to over $44,000 in cutting. (This includes some going back to last year). That’s just an extraordinary amount of money and time that we have to have people out there cutting grass that shouldn’t have to be doing it.”
The board also agreed to levy assessments for those who have been late on their water bills. Finance Director Frank Gambosi said this provision allows the city to transfer these charges to the property tax bill of each property.
Gambosi also spoke at the meeting about the effect of Covid-19 on the city’s tax revenue. He said that before the pandemic struck the city was up about 5 percent, and now is down about 5 percent, or around $350,000, so they are working on grants and other projects to increase revenue. He said as more business have opened up in July, there has been a corresponding growth in income taxes, but this year they still will take a loss on business withholdings.
“Next year we will be hit hard with individuals because unemployment is not taxable,” he said. “We will (also) be hit hard next year with net profits taxes because we are already at four months (that) some businesses have not been in operation. … So the amount of income taxes in those will be substantially (less) next year compared to this year.”
Mallis reported that the demolition of St. Peter Chanel High School has begun recently, and that those involved have done a great job. He said it is understandable that people might want to see the work being done, yet he voiced concerns about the public visiting the site and not staying at a safe distance.
“I know it’s a sensitive topic,” he said. “It’s tough seeing the school come down … but we need the public and those going to the site, you need to stay out of the fenced-in area. We cannot have people looking for some type of memorabilia entering in the fenced area. That is a very unstable building…”
He said the city, the Bedford City School District and the St. Peter Chanel Alumni Association have been in constant contact, and they are looking at the possibility of gathering some of the bricks to make available at a later date.
In other council business:
– Ward 5 Representative Heather Rhoades reminded everyone that the next First Fridays celebration will be taking place this Friday, August 7. The Bedford Downtown Alliance will once again be passing out Fun Bags by the train depot in a drive-thru type fashion. This month’s bag offers the opportunity for those participating to decorate their own Covid-19 mask. Free food will also be provided again, as well.
– Mallis said people in the W. Grace Street area, if they haven’t already, will be receiving a letter from Dominion Gas about the mainline replacement project that will be taking place there soon.
– The Civil Service Commission will be holding Fire Department and EMS exams on Saturday, September 26. Click here for more information.
– Mallis said the rail companies will be closing down some of the crossings in town during the week of August 19 through August 26. He said the repair work on the tracks will take about three to four days, and more information will be on social media as the exact dates approach.
– Mallis said once the road work is complete on Forbes Road and Mapledale Avenue in the next few weeks, the city will turn its attention to areas that are in need of sidewalk repair. He said on those streets which sidewalk repairs will take place, residents will have the opportunity to get extra work done at that time at the same cost the city receives.
– The city will begin replacing the old-fashioned decorative lights on Willis Street using funding from a grant from NOPEC as part of the city’s energy project. The lights in that area have been failing and need to be changed out.
