Diller: Streets need some attention soon

FORT RECOVERY — Butler and Boundary streets may be getting work done sooner rather than later.

“Something needs to be done with state route 119 (through village limits),” said village administrator Randy Diller at a Fort Recovery Village Council’s meeting Monday. “That’s basically where we need to focus this year.”

The village is already looking into reconstructing Butler Street (Ohio 119) in the next four to five years. The project is planned to include a new water line, sidewalks, curbs and street, as well as replacing the traffic light at Wayne Street.

Fort Recovery has submitted a request for an Ohio Department of Transportation grant to partially fund the project.

Diller and village grants administrator Jenn Schoonover are hoping to receive a little more than $1 million from the department as well as $500,000 from the Ohio Public Works Commission and an unspecified amount from the County Engineers Association of Ohio. (That leaves about $2.3 million for the village to pay on the multi-million dollar project.)

Despite these plans, Diller said, at least some work to the street needs to be done sooner than planned.

“What’s the best way to spend that money?” he said.

“Does it make sense to go in and patch the spots that are worst this year, go back in and patch the spots that are bad next year, you know, just try to buy time until it gets replaced? Or overlay the whole thing somehow? Try to get a few years out of it?”

He mentioned he will likely speak with paving companies for suggestions and report back to council later.

Diller also noted he is working with ODOT and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to exempt drivers from the railroad crossing on Ohio 49 near its intersection with Railroad Street. (It also crosses on Wayne and First streets.) Those rails through Fort Recovery are virtually unused, he explained.

In other business, council members Greg Schmitz, Scott Pearson, Erik Fiely, Al Post and Cliff Wendel, absent Luke Knapke, approved a request from Fort Recovery Merchants Association to open an alcohol stand in the village for the annual Taste of Fort Recovery from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. June 16.

Council also extended three Enterprise Zone agreements with J&M Manufacturing for another year.