Stimson Avenue bridge repairs skyrocket

ATHENS, Ohio — When Athens City Council first discussed rehabilitating the Stimson Avenue bridge back in June 2023, the city was expected to bear about 12% of the total project cost. The Ohio Department of Transportation was picking up the balance. 

In April 2024, council amended its original authorization to increase the city’s share to $580,000. Because the state had increased its allocation for the project, though, the city’s responsibility represented only about 11% of the total cost.

Earlier this year, council began considering a third update that brought the city’s responsibility to $830,000. State support remained the same, though, so the city would shoulder 16% of the cost.

At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Athens Transportation Committee Chair Solveig Spjeldnes, 1st Ward, revealed that the project cost — and by extension, the city’s share of it — is increasing again. By a lot.

City Service-Safety Director Andrew Stone notified city officials by email on Valentine’s Day that the lower of two bids for the construction part of the project was $5.2 million, “which is 17% over the engineer’s estimate,” he wrote.

Mayor Steve Patterson told the council that the state used to limit overbids to 10% of the project estimate, but now allows bids to exceed projected costs by up to 20%.

“This is awardable under the revised state law, but is more than the appropriations for construction and contingency in this ordinance,” Stone wrote. “The authorization in this ordinance captures the entire project — engineering and construction — while the new appropriations are just for construction.”

He submitted new estimates that brought the project cost to $6.3 million total. Most of that amount is covered by a $4.5 million grant from ODOT’s Small Cities program. The city now expects to contribute $1.8 million — representing 21% of the total cost — towards the bridge rehabilitation, instead of $830,000.

The project includes removing and replacing the deck and parapets, repairing and rehabbing beams and abutments, as well as lighting work and a shared use path on its upstream side. 

Alan Swank, 4th Ward, asked Patterson if the new overbid ceiling will be a problem for the city going forward.

“We are certainly looking at things from a different strategic lens when it comes to putting projects out to bid,” Patterson said. He said he didn’t want to get into particulars in a public meeting, but “the short answer to your question is, ‘Yeah.’”

On Thursday, Spjeldnes told the Independent that bidding is an issue in general. 

“The city, as with other entities, has had trouble getting bids at all,” she said in a text message. “Often the bids are much higher than anticipated.”

The amended ordinance will go back to first reading.

Ordinances on third reading

Project improvements involving design, maintenance and additions to the Richland Avenue bridge over the Hocking River, and the Strouds Run Road bridge over U.S. 33, as outlined in Ordinance 09-25, will have to be rebid as no bids were offered, Patterson said. The two projects total just over $500,000, which is to be appropriated from Street Fund 220.

Council also adopted ordinances that:

• Increase the maximum size of yard signs, including political signs, from 350 to 432 square inches.
• Authorize spending up to $300,000 from APR Income Tax Fund 273, T.C. 500, to build a new restroom facility at the West State Street ball parks.
• Authorize spending up to $350,000 to improve the city’s tennis and pickleball courts, which have rust on their surfaces; $300,000 from APR Income Tax Fund 273 and $50,000 from American Rescue Plan Act Fund 286.
• Authorize sale by internet auction of obsolete municipal property, with the service-safety director authorized to enter into an agreement with a government auction service and items to be auctioned for no less than 10 days.

Ordinances on second reading

The council also saw ordinances on second reading to:

• Increase two municipal court probation officer positions from half time to full time — thus requiring an amended ordinance sent back to first reading.
• Authorizing the pay rate for the newly promoted diversion coordinator be raised from $19.89 to $22 per hour, retroactive to the beginning of the year.
• Authorizing a request from Ohio University’s International Student Union to order the closure of a portion of East Union Street, from Court Street to University Terrace, in order to conduct the International Street Fair on April 5.
• Allowing for the vending, peddling and soliciting of items related to the uptown International Street Fair on April 5.

Ordinances on first reading

The council conducted first readings of three related ordinances that annex about 35 acres immediately east of Cable Lane into the city through an agreement with the Athens County Board of Commissioners and Athens Township Board of Trustees. The acreage is owned by Frander Properties LLC, which intends to develop homes on site. 

One ordinance, 19-25, stipulates that upon annexation the city would agree to provide city fire, police, water and sewer services. Ordinance 20-25, would designate zoning on the property as R-1, single-family residential. Ordinance 21-25 would establish a right-of-way easement for placement of utility lines.

The council also heard first reading of an ordinance authorizing a month-to-month lease agreement between the city and the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau for use of the city-owned Mansfield House. The bureau would pay $1,667 per month for a total of $20,000 per year. 

The historic Mansfield House is a former log cabin that was located at the Market on State Mall site for many years, Patterson said. It was moved to its present site on East State in the 1990s to serve as the administration offices of Athens Parks and Recreation, but those offices moved into the Athens Community Center. The Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau has leased the site for years without a formal agreement, Patterson said. 

Patterson asked the council — who agreed — to remove a section of the proposed lease that required the bureau to pay for maintenance and repairs. The cost of needed repairs on the Mansfield House are substantial, Patterson said. The bureau may move into new offices on Stimson Avenue by mid-year, he said, at which point the city will seek a new “end user” for Mansfield House. The site will not involve an elevator on the second floor so the building’s historic integrity can be preserved.

Reports

Council President Sam Crowl reported that the former Ciro restaurant at 120 W. Union St. will become a full-service Mexican restaurant. Frida’s Cocina, which owns the property now, received a liquor license by transfer from a Grove City company.

Law Director Lisa Eliason announced that Jamarcus Macartney, a 2017 graduate of Ohio University and 2020 graduate of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, became the city’s newest prosecutor on Feb. 10. Macartney has previously been a prosecutor for Nelsonville and Chauncey.

The council also decided to table a rezoning request for an 8-acre property at 0 Pomeroy Road, although the company that made the request withdrew its proposal late last week. 

Athens City Council’s next regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 24, in Athens City Hall, Council Chambers, third floor, 8 E. Washington St. Meetings are also available online. Regular sessions are on the first and third Mondays of the month; committee meetings are on the second and fourth Mondays.