Silver Lake council approves engineering contract to pursue multi‑million‑dollar Silver Lake Boulevard rebuild

Council members on Monday unanimously approved an engineering contract and authorized applications for state and federal funding to study and prepare reconstruction plans for Silver Lake Boulevard.

Mayor Dunphy and village engineers described a multi-phase effort to identify the causes of recurring failures on Silver Lake Boulevard, prepare “shovel-ready” plans and pursue grants and low‑interest loans. Mayor Dunphy opened the discussion by noting a sinkhole on Silver Lake Boulevard on Memorial Day and that the corridor is a key safety route for police, fire and EMS.

Tony Burgoyne of OHM Advisors, the village’s engineer on the project, told Council the boulevard’s underground system consists of “common trench sewers” — lines either stacked or placed side‑by‑side — and that past repairs largely addressed lateral connections rather than the trunk line. Burgoyne said a full reconstruction of the corridor could cost roughly $5,500,000 and that the immediate step is to complete engineering and planning documents that will maximize scoring on grant applications. He described Task 202 as the portion of work that would produce substantially complete plans, estimating that phase at about $325,000.

Burgoyne outlined likely funding sources the village intends to pursue: the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC), the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund (WPCLF), the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA) loans, the H2Ohio program, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 594 grants and possible congressional office support. He cautioned that OPWC funds may not cover the entire project and estimated the village’s share could range from roughly 20% up to 50% of total construction costs.

Clerk‑Treasurer Sean Housley gave preliminary financing scenarios. He said financing the engineering work and then rolling that amount into construction financing is an option; if the village financed the engineering and later chose not to proceed with construction, the cost to residents for the engineering portion would be about $6.76 per month for five years added to water and sewer bills. Using Burgoyne’s $5.5 million construction estimate, OHM calculated a 30‑year loan at 2.8% would cost the village about $276,000 annually and could translate to roughly an $18 monthly increase per household for the life of a loan if the village financed the full project cost.

Council suspended the rules and adopted Ordinance No. 52‑2025, authorizing the mayor to enter a contract with OHM Advisors not to exceed $406,400 for professional design and engineering services, on a 7–0 roll call. Council also adopted Resolution No. 53‑2025 to authorize the mayor to apply for WPCLF funding and designate a repayment source, also by unanimous vote.

Administration said engineering work needs to begin promptly to meet application deadlines: OPWC and WPCLF deadlines were identified as late summer (end of August/September) while other funding sources have later or rolling deadlines. The mayor and engineers committed to distributing the phase‑one findings to councilors as soon as available so members have time to review funding and scope options before further action.

The council’s next step is completing the engineering tasks and, if grants or loans are available, returning to council with construction financing and scope options for formal decisions.