(Editor’s Note: The Bedford City Council met on Monday, Aug. 7 and worked through the agenda like any typical meeting, but were unable to vote on many of the ordinances that night since they were missing a couple of council members and didn’t have a quorum. A special meeting was then held on Thursday, Aug. 10 of that week so members could vote on some of the timely issues. This story will be covering both meetings.)

The Bedford City Council approved the purchase of two new boilers for the Municipal Complex during a recent council meeting. According to City Manager Mike Mallis, one of the boilers failed last winter, and the other one was off and on during that time. He said the company that manufactured and installed the units is no longer in business, so fixing the boilers or getting new parts were not options.

“Companies that have come out have indicated that these high-efficiency boilers have reached the end of their life expectancy (of) about 25 years,” Mallis said. He said the city engineers put together the specs for the new boilers and ABC Piping came in with the lowest responsive bid of $165,000. (The highest bid to come in was $274,000.)

“We’ve done projects with ABC Piping before and they have done good work in the city,” Mallis said.

Part of the funds for the new boilers will come from a grant the city had received from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC). Mallis said the city will also look at other financing options through NOPEC for the remaining balance.

On a smaller scale, the council also approved the purchase of a hydraulic pump pounder for the city to help make it safer for workers to install or take down signage. Most of the roughly $15,000 price tag was provided through an $11,393.65 safety grant from the Bureau of Workers’ Comp, Mallis said. Up until now, he said that workers have been doing the sign work manually using sledgehammers.

The council also gave its approval for spending on three specific upgrades to the Bedford Commons. Mallis said the city recently received a Community Develop Block Grant (CDBG) for improvements which will go towards electrical upgrades at the commons, roof replacements for the gazebo and train station and restroom upgrades. Mallis emphasized the grant will take care of 100 percent of the cost, and that there will be no city monies going toward any of these upgrades.

During the Monday meeting, council took time to honor Clerk of Council Tracy Simons for completing her Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) Program. Helen Dunlap, the vice president of the Ohio Municipal Clerks Association, was on hand to present Simons with her certificate and explain the rigorous process Simons had to go through to earn the CMC designation.

“After a dedicated journey of several years, hours of seminars, conferences and institute sessions, she has reached the pinnacle — an achievement that very few clerks are able to accomplish,” said Dunlap. “Out of 15,000 IIMC (International Institute of Municipal Clerks) members, she is one of 4,640 members worldwide to obtain this certification. In Ohio, there are less than 100 CMCs.”

On top of Simon’s CMC designation, Dunlap announced that Simon will also soon become the vice president of the Ohio Municipal Clerks Association when Dunlap moves up to take the role of president.

Bedford Mayor Stan Koci gave praise for the work that Simons has accomplished. “Tracy has just grown so much in this job over the last 4 years and does a great job for us,” Koci said. “And earning this (designation) … I have seen some of the stuff you had to do, and it’s a lot … we appreciate what you’ve done, and what you have accomplished so far. …It means you care about your job and are willing to go that extra mile.”

In other business, the board:

  • Authorized entering into two contracts with Simplex-IT for informational technology services — one contract for IT services for the police department specifically, and one for services for all other municipal departments.
  • Approved a rate deduction for disabled persons and senior citizens, allowing those residents to have water and sewer discounts.
  • Was reminded that the State of the City will take place at 12:30 p.m. on August 29 at Ellenwood Center. For more information, click here.