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STEUBENVILLE -- When a project is taking longer than expected, it can draw concerns from residents.
Jefferson County Commissioner Tony Morelli said at Thursday’s commission meeting he’s received phone calls and heard concerns from residents and first responders in Bergholz over the current closure of the bridge on state Route 164.
"It’s not a county project, it’s a state project that’s basically came to a standstill," Morelli said. "I’ve got several calls."
Morelli said he had talked with state Rep. Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, and state officials about the matter.
"Talking to the state and talking to Ferguson, there is a conflict between the state and the contractor," he said, noting that Ferguson was told getting the bridge open again is "the highest priority" in ODOT District 11.
First responders in the area are concerned that, with emergency vehicles not being able to use smaller bridges on the detours, response times have gone up drastically.
"What led to me going out there was the first responders are concerned that the job is stopped," Morelli said. "What’s going on is that what typically would be a five-minute call if there is a 9-1-1 call, is taking 30 minutes. There is concern in that area about what is going on with the bridge.
"It’s more than just an inconvenience for the public, it’s a safety issue."
Morelli noted that while some information going around would indicate it being several months before work begins again, the conversations he had left him optimistic it could resume much sooner.
"The state is saying they hope to have it worked out within 30 days, either with a new contractor or that contractor," he said. "There are rumors that it could be six, eight months, maybe a year before they start again, and I just wanted to say that’s not what we’re hearing."
County Engineer Jim Branagan, who was present at the meeting to give his weekly report on the county’s projects, said there are a lot of rumors going around.
"There’s a lot of rumors going around, I’m not sure what’s true or not," Branagan said.
He also noted that county Bridge Engineer Kara Bernhart has been in contact with officials about the project.
During his report, Branagan noted there is an ongoing slip repair project on county Road 25 and there have been seven slip repairs completed of 30 remaining on the list to get done, leaving his department with 23 more to tackle.
He said with the 58 slips the county has previously repaired, once they are completed, a total of 88 slips will have been repaired on county roads.
Another elected official, county Auditor E.J. Conn, appeared before the board to discuss a couple of items, which led to a discussion about the anticipated funding from the American Rescue Plan.
The county has not received any funds or any guidance from federal or state government about how the funds will be permitted to be used, officials said.
The county is anticipating receiving $12.8 million. Conn said the funds will come in two disbursements, the first within 60 days of the bill's passage and the second more than one year following the receipt of the first. He said the county will have until the end of 2024 to use the funds.
Commissioner Dave Maple said the county, once it knows the full details, needs to be careful with choosing a process to manage the funds.
"The auditor and the county commissioners, we’re the ones who’ve been elected to handle these funds," he said. "I want to make sure we keep that responsibility where it should be."
Morelli suggested holding meetings with Conn and the staff of the auditor’s office, which he said has been recommended by officials and other government entities, though it was noted it is challenging to do so without much in the way of guidance.
"I’ve been seeing other counties and cities start to get together to start to plan," he said. "I think that it’s a good idea that we start. We need to plan.
"My concern is ... it’s going to be hard to get contractors and engineers and even raw materials (with funds going all over the country for projects)."
"Everything is so expensive now it is crazy," Maple said. "All of these funds that are out there to help aren’t going to go as far."
Conn said he was attending a webinar about the funds Thursday but did not anticipate getting any new details from it.
"I think we should get together and figure out a method as to how we want this process to flow," Conn said.
Morelli and Maple expressed enthusiasm in working with Conn and his staff on the funds once received.
"The way that our county has maintained our budgeting, our spending, our projects ... I’m confident that we’re prepared to the best we can for the citizens with these funds," Maple said. "I’m hoping people have noticed that we’re fairly good stewards of money. We might not make everybody happy with projects, but the platform we have for handling and spending these funds is pretty solid. I look forward to working with (Conn) in that fashion."
The American Rescue Plan was signed by President Joe Biden on March 11, presumably putting the window for disbursement open until May 10.
The commissioners also received a couple of requests from the county Agriculture Society about the fair grounds and county fair.
One request was for capital improvement dollars to go toward a new draft horse barn, while another was for recreation funds for liability coverage for the fair.
The letter, from fair board President Ray Hildebrand, said the Agriculture Society is excited to have as close to a normal fair as possible with potential COVID-19 restrictions in place in August after being forced to only have a junior fair last year.
"This year we are planning a full fair for our 150th anniversary," the letter said.
"It’s exciting we’re going to have a fair this year if everything stays the way it is," Morelli said.
Also noteworthy:
● The commissioners had two bid openings for the engineer’s office.
Three bids were received for a tree removal project that was estimated at $73,000, ranging from $65,520 to $94,876.60.
A total of five bids were opened for a slip repair project on county Road 30, estimated at $555,919. They ranged from $494,194 to $764,376.
A slip repair project on county Road 6, estimated at $326,213, was approved to be advertised for bids.
● The commissioners approved Water and Sewer Director Michael Eroshevich to hire two waterline maintenance workers. He told the board that a total of 65 people applied for the positions.
● The re-appointment of Geno Morelli to the county Regional Airport Authority board was approved.
● Commissioner Thomas Graham was absent from the meeting because he was out of town. Morelli, who is the board’s vice chair, acted as chairman in his absence.