Two capital improvement projects and nearly $2 million in roadwork were the focus of Athens Mayor Ric Abel's news conference yesterday.
The mayor said he hopes to use about $320,000 in inheritance taxes collected in 2005, along with capital improvement money derived from city income taxes, to fund the purchase of a new fire truck and update the Athens Police Department's high-band radio system.
The most recent fire truck purchase was more than four years ago and cost $360,000, Abel said, adding that a new truck could cost up to $400,000. This will replace one of the city's trucks, which the city usually replaces after about 20 years of use.
The update for APD's radio system, parts of which are up to 15 years old, might cost as much as $80,000, he said. That includes about $34,000 for radio tower equipment and about $40,000 to replace three or four receivers throughout the city, Abel said.
Although updating the system would decrease the amount of interference officers hear on their portable radios, there would continue to be dead spots throughout the city where officers have difficulty communicating, he said.
In other news, normal repaving projects and other minor street repairs will occur less often this year because major roadwork projects in Athens will total about $2 million, Abel said.
The largest project, a $700,000 task paid for by the Ohio Department of Transportation, will be resurfacing and the creation of a culvert on Pomeroy Road. ODOT also will cover about 80 percent of the $500,000 of work at the intersection of state Route 682 and West Union Street near the Hocking River. Repaving and other repair projects on three other roads will total about $623,000 and will be paid for by a mix of state and local money.
The mayor said he also is waiting on approval of a request for state funding for an estimated $203,000 repaving project on West Union Street, from Shafer Street past the Athens County Fairgrounds.
- Kantele Franko
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Kantele Franko
