Action by Warren City Council at Monday night's meeting might bring street surface near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Liberty Street, toward Market Street, much earlier than anticipated.
Councilman John Lewis raised the issue, noting that the block "needs work."
He called for, starting with the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Liberty Street, paving work in the eastbound and westbound lanes headed towards Market Street to the utility opening.
Department of Public Works Director Mike Holtz indicated that the city was "not planning on doing anything (at the intersection), but could do it." He said that the project could circumvent the bid process if the total cost does not exceed $18,000.
He expressed some concern that the city would be "looking at doing a fairly large patch without the big boys coming," indicating that the large paving firms would likely be unavailable this late in the year. Assistant City Manager Mary Ann Nau also indicated that many asphalt factories will close in the near future, but Holtz said that there is one in Jamestown, N.Y., that may be available.
Lewis then made a motion to "do the work out of the general fund as an emergency repair" with a maximum amount of $18,000.
Councilman Sam Harvey asked if the city's plan was to keep it the way it is for a couple of years. Lewis said that he has been "trying to get that patch done for two years. We need to go down the center of the avenue where the crosswalk was. Eliminating that (crosswalk) at the same time might be a good idea."
Mayor Mark Phillips pointed out that council is "taking some pretty swift action which is good" but also noted that spending those dollars on this paving would be taking $18,000 which is "paying for a lot of stuff."
The motion carried 4-3 with Lewis and Councilmen Howard Ferguson, Jim Zavinski and Maurice Cashman voting in the affirmative. Phillips, Harvey and Councilman Chris Park opposed the measure.