Council approves dredge material facility change orders
May 10—CONNEAUT — Work is ongoing on the city's new dredged material facility, with steps being taken to help ensure it is completed on time.
City Council approved a pair of change orders to material facility, and approved an amended grant agreement with the Ohio EPA to help pay for the project.
The two change orders will allow for the inclusion of dewatering and stabilizing material.
"We lost some time with some additional permitting requirements for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that we were not anticipating," City Manager Jim Hockaday said. "We've had to continue that work throughout wetter weather than we'd normally operate in. Obviously, this is an earthwork project, and that can be very difficult."
The contractor and the city's engineering firm have recommended putting stabilizing and drying agents across 75 percent of the site to keep the project on-track, Hockaday said.
Council also approved a change order to resolve four items.
"We re-discovered the push pit that used to exist on the northern end of this dock," Hockaday said. "They knocked the top of it off and just graded it below grade so we couldn't see it was there anymore. Once [the contractor] started to dig the bottom of the sluiceways, they ran into this giant concrete push pit. That has to be removed, it's four feet above our final grade for the bottom of the facility."
The contractor also had to double handle material due to wetlands mitigation areas, and install extra temporary fencing and silt socks.
Finally, a different type of pipe will be used than was originally planned, Hockaday said.
"We just weren't able to get the original spec'd material, and had to go with more expensive steel pipe because it's going to be available in time to complete our project," he said.
The changes will all be paid for with grant funding.
Council approved a grant agreement to accept $475,500 to pay for wetland mitigation credits required by the project.
Council also approved a resolution to create a fund to receive revenue from the facility.
An agreement for a contractor to operate the facility was moved to second reading, in order for a section of it to be revised.
In other business:
—The city's downtown cleanup event will take place this Saturday (May 13), from 8 a.m. to noon.
"Even if you can only come down for an hour, we always enjoy the extra pair of hands, whatever you can do," Hockaday said.
—Council voted to appoint Kristina Showalter to the Conneaut Port Authority board, for a four-year term.
