Oregon awards bid for Navarre/Coy Intersection Improvement Project

        Oregon City Council on Monday approved a bid of $3,085,874.92 from E.S. Wagner Company, Oregon, for the Navarre/Coy Intersection Improvement project.
        “This ordinance is needed to proceed with the construction of the Navarre Avenue/Coy Road Intersection Improvement Project,” said Public Service Director Paul Roman. “Out of the two bids received, E.S. Wager was the lowest and best bid. E.S. Wagner’s bid was over our estimate by nine percent. It does meet the Ohio Department of Transportation requirement. Considering the inflation that is ongoing right now, we felt pretty lucky with E.S. Wagner’s bid. They’ve done work for us in the past and will do a great job.”
        The city plans to start work on the project in late May or early June, said Roman.
        “Most of the work should be done this year. We still may have to wait for traffic light equipment due to long delivery time, unfortunately,” said Roman. “We’ll see a lot of lane restrictions on Navarre over the summer months. Some of the work that’s going to start out is not our work, but Columbia Gas of Ohio’s. They will be replacing a 20- inch gas line in the southern eastbound lane. There may be a Coy Road closure. Also the Coy Road Bridge just north of Navarre will have a 60 day closure on Coy as well. So there’s going to be heavy construction in that intersection.”
        Roman said there will be public notices about the upcoming closure and the detour was posted.
 
Safety improvements
        The Navarre Avenue/Coy Road intersection is along the main commercial corridor through Oregon. It experiences large volumes of traffic from I-280 to recreational areas along Lake Erie. The intersection is ranked 39th on the 2016 Urban Interstate Highway Safety Improvement Program list for Ohio.
        The project was initiated by the city to reduce crashes and congestion.
        The Federal Highway Administration provided funding for the project up to a maximum of $1,737,276 for implementing various safety improvements at the intersection. The Ohio Public Works Commission also provided an $800,000 grant for the construction of the project.
        Also at the meeting, council passed a resolution to enter into an amendment to the Regional Combined Health District Agreement between communities within the geographical jurisdiction of Lucas County to extend the agreement for the period of Dec. 31, 2021 and Jan. 1, 2023.
        In 2019, the District Advisory Council for the Lucas County Health District, the Lucas County Board of Commissioners, and the cities of Toledo, Maumee, Sylvania and Oregon established a regional combined health district known as the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department. They extended their participation with the addition of Waterville in the Regional Combined Health District to Dec. 31, 2021.
        “This resolution allows the continued participation for the city in the Regional Combined Health District beyond the expiration date of our last agreement, which was Dec. 31, 2021,” said Melissa Purpura, city solicitor.
        “The Lucas County Health Department takes care of full administration of health and environmental affairs within the Lucas County General Health District, which encompasses Toledo, Maumee, Sylvania, Oregon and Waterville. This agreement has been amended from time to time to allow other cities and townships to be part of this district, and also to extend the expiration date,” she said.
       
Community garden
        Also at the meeting, Councilman Tim Zale talked about plans for a possible community garden.
        “It’s in a very infant stage, we’re nowhere near doing something,” said Zale. “We’re thinking about next year. It’s something we’re discussing. Right now, I think it’s a good idea.”
        “I had a resident reach out to us,” said Roman. “Everyone has a different meaning of community garden. I think we need time to properly plan it out. Where would we put it? In general, I’m thinking in the city complex, where it could be watched over easier. I think it’s just a matter of planning for a location this year and working through the details. We’re doing a wetlands project out back and there’s a lot of farmland that surrounds that. We could do it on the south side of the complex by the soccer fields. There’s no water there, so we would have to extend a waterline. There’s planning involved, but whenever you do something out back, we need to think about it. It’s hard for me because with many other cities, it’s under recreation. The question is, which committee would handle it let alone which department would plan it? I would like to seek council’s input first, then the idea would be to start thinking more, put details together, and see what the community interest is.”