Resident presses Port Clinton council on failing streets; staff cites phased rebuilding and railroad delays

Robert Miller, a school bus driver who identified himself during public comment, told the Port Clinton City Council that multiple neighborhood streets «are terrible» and said he had heard money earmarked for phase-two repairs ‘‘was spent somewhere else.’’ He said heavy wear from buses and recent detours had made some routes unsafe and urged faster fixes.

Safety/services staff member Mr. Sass, identified in the meeting as the safety and service director, responded that the street program is a multi-phase effort. He said crews have done some areas with mill-and-fill but that many streets require deeper underground work — sewer and utility replacement — before a durable surface can be installed. ‘‘We can’t order a contractor or…have the money in hand before we can release that bid,’’ Mr. Sass said, stressing that different funding streams must align before construction begins.

Mr. Sass told the council that railroad approvals are delaying certain segments that run beneath or near rail overpasses. ‘‘If the railroad says no, you can’t run it the way you want to…that changes the whole process,’’ he said, noting engineers must meet railroad specifications for supports and clearances. He added that a pump station for one project segment would cost about $3 million, illustrating the scale of underground work.

Council members and staff went through a list of streets named during the comment period — including Seventh, Washington, Jefferson, Fulton, Monroe, Taft, Clinton and Lay Drive — and explained why some stretches were limited to mill-and-fill while others require full reconstruction. Mr. Sass said some areas previously received only a mill-and-fill because the city did not yet have funding or the necessary approvals for deeper utility work; the deeper work will happen in later phases, and the city expects some construction to begin in the fall.

On federal funding, Mr. Sass said the city has secured grant awards but has not yet received all disbursements; he noted staff are seeking earmarks from congressional representatives and senators to supplement loans and local fees. ‘‘The money that’s being generated from the infrastructure fund is in [an] account. That’s the money that’ll be drawn from when it’s time to pay these contractors,’’ he said, while cautioning that some federal grants are delivered on a project-by-project schedule.

Mr. Miller and councilors pressed staff to check whether Lay Drive and streets immediately adjacent to the school are included in the next phase; Mr. Sass said he would verify the specific inclusion of those short stretches as part of the Clinton–Taft area work. The council encouraged residents to attend committee meetings for more detail and to direct questions to staff.

The meeting record shows the council did not take immediate formal action on street programming at this session; staff emphasized the need to complete underground utility work first so surface work will be durable and not require repeated repairs.

The council adjourned with a timetable of continued planning and an expectation that significant construction activity will follow once funding and railroad approvals are secured.