Defiance City Council approves $3.13M roundabout contract, JED agreement and $228K boiler replacement

The Defiance City Council on April 14 unanimously approved three emergency ordinances that the mayor’s office presented by caption and then adopted after suspending the rules.

The council approved a construction contract for the Rostston Avenue roundabouts project with Minago Inc. for $3,132,394, Councilmember Mack said. Mack told the council the bid was roughly $500,000 below the city engineer’s estimate and that work is expected to begin in July with substantial completion targeted for Nov. 1. The council voted to adopt the ordinance after a motion to suspend rules; the vote was recorded as affirmative by council members present.

"The lowest and best bidder on the project was Minago Inc. at $3,132,394," Mack said during the presentation.

The council also approved an ordinance authorizing the city to enter into an agreement creating the Delaware Defiance Joint Economic Development District No. 1 (JED). Councilmember Frank summarized the agreement as a mechanism to use the city’s income tax collection authority to reimburse Defiance County for part of the infrastructure costs tied to the First Quality Tissue project. Frank said the JED will be a separate entity with its own board and funding stream; carveouts for the city and Delaware Township and a reserve were included in the agreement. Once the county is repaid, the JED board may determine future distribution of revenues.

"This agreement was put in place as a solution to use the income tax collection powers of the city to reimburse Defiance County for part of the infrastructure cost for First Quality Tissue," Frank said.

Council members asked clarifying questions about the JED’s geographic scope and whether similar JEDs could be created in the future; Frank and other members said the tool is intended for large, specific projects and that variables such as debt and grant funding influence whether a JED is used.

Finally, the council authorized the city administrator to contract for replacement of two boilers and related accessories, and to replace a rooftop chiller for the police division building. Mack said Johnson Controls submitted the lowest bid at $228,514. He noted the boilers are original to the roughly 50‑ to 60‑year‑old building and the rooftop unit dates to the early 1990s. Council members confirmed the funding had been appropriated through the capital budget and a supplemental earlier in the year.

"Johnson Controls is our lowest at $228,514," Mack said, adding that the work is intended to prevent failures this summer.

The mayor announced he would appoint Curtis Schwitzer to the planning commission to fill a vacancy created when Miss Kaufman joined council; the council gave its consent. The meeting included routine council reports, including a detailed summary of Clean Up Your Parks Day: roughly 500 volunteers, 44 bags of trash, 47 bags of leaves, eight truckloads of sticks and branches, and six roll‑off dumpster loads from the cemetery. A bulky‑item dumpster event was also announced for April 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

The meeting adjourned after no citizens raised concerns during the public‑comment prompt.

The ordinances were adopted on emergency readings; no additional hearings or votes were recorded in the transcript. If further procedural steps or implementation timelines are set, the council or city staff will announce them separately.