ROSSFORD — A long awaited set of repairs to the Rossford Recreation Center is finally moving forward.
City Administrator Allyson Murray said that the city had been waiting to do the project since she started her job in March 2020.
“It’s a very small project, as far as city projects go. It was very difficult to get people to bid on those. It was very difficult to even come and identify what it was that we needed done,” Murray said. “It was clear that there were spots that need to be replaced. I know it was something that Councilman Robert Ruse identified as something that needed to be looked at, as soon as I got here.”
She and Mayor Neil MacKinnon explained that it’s stucco-like panel boards that are on the upper outside walls near the roof.
Council unanimously approved the repairs by all present. Councilwoman Caroline Eckel was excused.
The contract was awarded to Sunforest Building Company to replace the exterior insulation and finishing system for $73,400, with a change order not to exceed 10%. It was pointed out that this was the lowest bid, with one bid coming in as high as $207,000.
Not on the agenda was a request by Danny’s Cafe to use adjacent city parking, which would be blocked off for special event use, during the Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area hours. The eight dates begin this week and are spread across the summer season.
Paperwork said that it would be for outdoor seating and live music.
Councilmen Greg Marquette and Larry Oberdorf Sr. asked about potential noise related problems from the live bands.
Law Director Kevin Heban made a suggestion.
“What council may want to consider is approval of one of them, and then see how they do before you approve all eight of them,” Heban said.
It was decided that the first two, with hour altered by council, would be approved. The May 12 event was changed to close at 11 p.m., from a midnight request, and May 21 would close the area at 9 p.m., as originally requested.
It passed with 5-1, with Oberdorf against.
Also at the meeting, council
• Approved the purchase of a section of real estate, which was within Lucas County, for $25,000.
“We found out the north wall of the Rossford Marina was not actually owned by the city,” MacKinnon said. “Now it’s official, we own all the marina. It was really weird, but this thing was probably plotted before the days of laser surveying, maybe in the 1920s.
“It came to our attention, over a year ago, that most of the north wall was not in the city or owned by the city of Rossford, to make everything consistent and make sure there would be no future ownership problems, we decided to buy it, to tie everything together formally and officially,” MacKinnon said.
• Heard the police department will be disposing of 16 old tasers, five taser batteries and 14 taser holsters. Murray said that these have been sitting around, decommissioned for a long time, but Taser disposal used to be a problem, but now there’s a firm that will do it.
• Approved an amendment to the 2023 budget, which was not previously anticipated. The public works department dump truck bed was damaged to an extent that the vehicle cannot be used without repair. It is the department’s primary vehicle. Repairs will cost $14,400. There will also be bike costs of $2,400 for the police bike patrol and $5,000 in recreation center cleaning costs.
• Approved the Wood County Solid Waste Management plan, which is available for viewing at the municipal building.
