NEW PARIS — New Paris Council will be submitting a pre-application to the State of Ohio for mitigation money available to construct a tornado siren in the village.
During a meeting on Monday, July 1, EMA Director Dave Anderson spoke to council regarding monies available and the required match.
Susan Laux with Mote & Associates Inc. will be submitting the application for the village. She was present to share additional information with council.
Anderson told council, mitigation money is available to possibly do a tornado siren in the Village of New Paris, but first they would have to submit a pre-application to the State and if officials see it as something they can fund, they will. It is part of a five percent initiative.
According to Laux, the village would be responsible for a portion of the cost. The siren would cost approximately $25,000 and the village would be responsible for approximately $3,000. The match can be cash or in-kind services.
For example, the village could speak to different electric companies to see if they would donate a pole and the labor to install it. That would count towards the village’s match.
The pre-application is due on July 10 and the full application, if requested, is not due until Nov. 18.
Council approved a motion to allow Laux to submit the pre-application.
Laux also discussed the South Spring Street Bridge project. The village will be replacing the deck and composite beams on the bridge, instead of a full renovation. Originally, this project was part of the Municipal Bridge Program with Ohio Department of Transportation, but Laux received an email from the State of Ohio informing her they were going to move Spring Street Bridge to a different program.
Now the bridge will be part of the Ohio Bridge Partnership Program. According to Laux, this is the same program they used for the Walnut Street Bridge. This program will pay for 100 percent of the construction cost, instead of only 95 percent. There is also no maximum construction amount. This program will pay for all of the construction.
The village had previously put five percent aside to pay for the Spring Street Bridge and now they will not have to use that money for this project, which led Laux to email ODOT and ask if the High Street Bridge could be a candidate for the Municipal Bridge Program. She is still waiting for a reply.
In the meantime, the village agreed to resubmit the High Street Bridge Project through the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) for their consideration. According to Laux, this program has a three year pipeline before the project will even be considered for funds. This is the second year the village is submitting this project, so after next year — if the village chooses to resubmit again — it could be considered for funding.
