MANSFIELD — The city’s Board of Control on Tuesday awarded a pair of construction contracts totaling $971,839 to improve infrastructure in two city parks.
The projects, already approved by City Council, are for a bridge replacement in North Lake Park and a culvert replacement in Liberty Park, according to city engineer Bob Bianchi.
The Control Board, comprised of Mayor Jodie Perry, Finance Director Kelly Blankenship and Safety Service Director Keith Porch, awarded an $854,940 contract to Adena Corp. of Mansfield to replace the bridge at North Lake Park.
Adena was one of two companies that submitted bids for the project, which had been estimated at $975,000. Great Lakes Demolition of Clyde had bid $1,123,639 in an effort to get the job.
“We’re pleased to see this bid come in,” Bianchi said. “Adena is local and they are very good at what they do. They had the low bid and they are very capable of doing this work.”
Bianchi, who said the project has “some aesthetic components to it,” said the bridge is located as residents enter the park off of West Fourth Street.
“You will see a concrete pad, but that essentially is a bridge. It’s tough to see, but it’s right before you get to the pavilion,” the engineer said.
He said the work, paid from the sewer fund, will likely begin in May and will take about two months to complete, depending on the weather. Bianchi said the road will be closed while the primary replacement work is completed.
The Control Board also awarded a contract up to $98,000 to K.E. McCartney & Associates of Mansfield to provide inspection services for the project.
He said McCartney was the only company to submit qualifications for the project.
“They do have a former (stone) mason on staff who will be out there who used to build these types of veneers and sandstone works. So he was very helpful,” Bianchi said.
For the culvert project in Liberty Park, the Control Board awarded a $116,899 contract to Bartley & Bolin Excavating/Trucking of Ashland, the lowest of eight bids submitted for the project. The next lowest bid was $139,496 and the highest was $158,969.
The estimate for the project was $150,000, according to Bianchi, who said McCartney will be paid to inspect the work. The project, on the park’s east drive near the site of the former pavilion, is being paid for out of the city sewer fund.
“There is a little bit of disparity there (in the bids), but we verified with Bartley & Bolin and they are comfortable with their bid and are ready to get going,” Bianchi said.
“They won’t start construction right away. There are materials that need to be ordered and the box culvert will take six to eight weeks to arrive,” the engineer said.
Perry said she was at Liberty Park on Monday.
“I looked at that (culvert) and some of the other projects that are coming up and I think it will be a great addition,” the mayor said.
Bianchi said the project will take about 30 days to complete and traffic in that area will be closed during the work.
Control board approves 10 new TASERS for police
The Board of Control approved the $25,542 purchase of 10 new TASERS for the police department from Axon Enterprises Inc. from Scottsdale, Ariz.
Police Chief Jason Bammann said each TASER comes with a battery, holster and software that tracks the device’s usage history.
The purchase was budgeted in the MPD’s capital budget for 2024. The new equipment will be issued to newly hired officers and older models will be phased out, according to the chief, who said the lifespan of the TASERS is around five years.
The board also approved the $38,991 purchase of a “DNA extraction robot” for use in the MPD crime lab. Funds for the equipment purchase are covered by a federal grant, according to the chief.
“This particular machine uses magnetic bead technology to purify DNA semen samples,” Bammann said.
“They currently have one in the lab. With this second one, they are going to test out a new technique which will speed up their extraction time from six hours to two and a half hours.”
