BATH TOWNSHIP — Bath Township officials are wrapping up a busy season of road construction as temperatures begin to fall.
Bath Township Road Supervisor Vern Heizer told township trustees during the Oct. 18 township meeting that a fog seal paving treatment still needed to be applied to Dogwood Circle. Heizer explained that Miller-Mason, a Hillsboro-based paving contractor hired for the project, ran out of the paving sealant before completing the job. He also expressed his concerns about the contractor completing the project before temperatures fall any further.
Heizer reported that loose gravel remains around the intersections of other township roads that Miller-Mason applied a chip seal surface in the summer, followed by a fog seal application this month. He said the paving contractor swept the roads twice, using both a Pelican and a push broom sweeper, but left piles of gravel on approximately 12 of the 15 township roads that were treated.
“I don’t think they did that great of job. All of the intersections still have a lot of gravel in them,” Heizer said. “Some of the roads were swept with the push broom sweeper which left piles of gravel in people’s yards and driveways. That gravel has now been swept out into the roads, and it does not look very professional.”
Township Trustee Tom Pitstick said the township should not stand the cost of sweeping the roads again and proposed contacting the paving contractor about sweeping the roads once more. However, Heizer said he had already discussed the issue with the paving contractor who did not give a definite answer about sweeping the roads for a third time.
Heizer suggested that township trustees delayed paying the $10,000 bill for the fog seal application until the contractor completed the paving project on Dogwood Circle. Township Trustee Steve Ross pointed out that deferring the payment would give the township some leverage when dealing with the contractor.
Pitstick also inquired about how late into the fall season that the fog seal could be applied to Dogwood Circle. Heizer said he had never been faced with this type of situation and would have to do some research regarding the ideal conditions and temperatures for applying the sealant.
“You want the road to be warm when you apply the fog seal so it will dry quickly,” said Heizer. “You want the emulsion to be fully cured before you encounter freezing conditions. I would guess you would want at least 60 degree temperatures.”
“Well, we will be running out of 60 degree weather very soon,” Ross added.
Heizer said all the road lines had been painted on the township roads that were paved this year. He pointed out that Wilkerson Road had three passing zones, which he considered dangerous because the road is barely 8 feet wide. Therefore, he contacted the Greene County Engineer’s office regarding establishing no-passing zones and painting double yellow centerlines, designating those zones.
According to Heizer, Greene County Deputy Engineer Luke Trubee said Heizer’s request was legal, and the township was not required to obtain approval from the state concerning this type of safety issue.
“There has been an accident or two and several near-misses. It is a matter of public safety,” Heizer said.
Ross noted that he thought Heizer’s request was a good decision. Heizer suggested following the same course of action regarding several other township roads sometime next year.
In other business, township officials will be performing some finishing work to the recently installed walking path in the township park, located at 1006 Yellow Springs Fairfield Road in Fairborn. The new path replaces a portion of the original walking path that encroached on an undeveloped track of land in the Waterford Landing subdivision. The developer, Design Develop Construct (DDC), LLC., requested that this portion of the path be removed to make way for additional development in the subdivision.
“Some sections of the new path have a warped lip, so we will be putting down some dirt and a berm on those areas to make it safer for walkers and joggers,” Heizer said.
Ross said he was pleased with the overall work that Strawser Construction had done on the walking path, but he did note that he took issue with some of the construction.
“They didn’t quite follow the path that we had laid out in our agreement. The stump that they were supposed to remove is still there,” Ross said. “They did a nice job and tied it into the existing path well, but I still thought about calling Lance Oaks (the project developer).”
Heizer pointed out that the contractor did not pour a path that matched the dimensions of the existing path, according to the agreement between Oaks and the township trustees.
“I thought that they were supposed to grade the land along the sides of the path as well. Also, if you take the crown of the road and drill down, you are not getting 2 inches of asphalt,” said Heizer. “I can show you were the asphalt is less than an half of inch. Some areas have 2 inches, of asphalt, and some areas have 6 inches.”
The township trustees decided to inspect the path along with Heizer before making any further decisions and taking any course of action.
The Bath Township Trustees will meet again in regular session at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1 at the township building, 1006 Yellow Springs Fairfield Road.
