Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure And Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public Service committee advances hydrant‑painting, airport taxiway rehab, water‑loan and training‑facility grant to consent
Summary
The Public Service, Public Utilities & Green Committee voted to place several ordinances on the consent agenda, including a contract to paint roughly 2,200 fire hydrants, an FAA/ODOT grant application for Akron‑Fulton Airport Taxiway P (100% funded), ODOT resurfacing on Vernon Odom Boulevard, OEPA/OWDA loan applications for water‑system projects (including a ~ $300,000 loop upgrade and work to identify ~3,000 unknown services with 53% principal forgiveness), and a $550,000 state capital request for the Dan Street training facility.
The Public Service, Public Utilities & Green Committee advanced a package of infrastructure and public‑safety items to the consent agenda, moving ordinances and grant or loan applications forward without individual roll‑call votes.
Service Director Chris Ludle outlined the proposed fire hydrant painting contract, saying the city has moved since 2016 to hire specialized contractors who “actually strips all the paint off all the way down to the bare metal,” then prime and repaint hydrants and color‑code tops so firefighters can assess flow. Ludle said the program would cover roughly 2,200 of the city’s 12,000 hydrants; Councilman Lombardo estimated the unit cost at about $130 per hydrant in committee discussion.
On aviation infrastructure, Ludle told the committee the Taxiway P rehabilitation at Akron‑Fulton Airport would be a resurfacing project (mill and fill with some full‑depth repairs) and that the FAA/ODOT grant would cover the work without a city match. For Vernon Odom Boulevard (State Route 261), Ludle said ODOT will manage bidding, award and inspection, with construction to start in May and conclude by late summer.
Ludle also described proposed Ohio EPA/OWDA water‑supply revolving loan applications for two water projects: a roughly $300,000 distribution upgrade to loop a 12‑inch line around the water plant to eliminate dead ends and improve pressure and resilience, and a program to locate and remove about 3,000 unknown or abandoned house services using hydro‑excavation; Ludle said the loan would be for 20 years at about 3% and include approximately 53% principal forgiveness for eligible work.
Separately, city staff asked the committee to support a $550,000 state capital request to make HVAC and roof repairs at the Dan Street public safety training facility, a city‑owned regional training center used by more than 60 local and federal partners; staff said total renovation needs exceed $2 million. The police chief told the committee the facility is important for recurring regional training, including CIT and scenario‑based exercises.
All items were moved to the committee’s consent agenda by voice vote; committee members asked clarifying questions about historical contractors for the hydrant program, bidder participation, and overlapping regional training capacity.
Next steps: the ordinances and grant/loan authorizations will appear on the council’s consent agenda for final consideration.
