BATH TOWNSHIP — Bath Township Trustee John Martin said at the Jan. 17 regular meeting that the township had received a letter from Greene County Engineer Robert Geyer regarding the township’s participation in a number of collective bidding programs for 2018.
The trustees will review the list of programs offered, including a collective paving program, a collective 422 chip seal, a collective micro resurfacing program, a collective guardrail installation program, and a collective center and edge line painting program. Township trustees have until Friday, Feb. 9 to approve the township’s participation in the competitive bidding contract and submit any applications to the Greene County Engineer’s Office.
The township participated in 2017 in the county’s collective center and edge line painting program. However, Heizer worked outside the county’s collective bidding process to secure a better product and price for chip seal pavement surface treatment after dealing with ongoing issues on Butternut Drive, Cedarwood Road and Hickorynut Drive in the Country Acres subdivision.
Township Road Supervisor Vern Heizer said the township would continue to paint edge lines on several township roads this year and would be changing the centerline markings on Adams Road. Presently, the centerline marking on the road allows motorists to pass, but the township will be replacing the markings with two solid yellow lines, creating a no-passing zone the entire length of the road.
“We are allowed to do this because we are making the road safer,” Heizer explained.
Township Trustee Tom Pitstick pointed out that the Feb. 9 deadline to participate in the county’s collective bidding programs comes very early in the year and before township officials have ample time to completely survey recent damage to township roads. Heizer also received permission from township trustees to pursue competitive bids independently for any roadwork that the township road department has scheduled for 2018.
“We will have to keep this issue on the agenda until the first township meeting in February,” Martin said. “We will have to make a final decision by then.”
Martin also inquired about the progress that had been made regarding an inquiry about widening the intersection at Herr Road and State Route 235. Heizer explained, during the Nov. 15 township meeting, that the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) would need to get involved in any effort to widen the intersection.
Heizer told Martin that he had been in contact with Josh Wallace, Greene County transportation manager at ODOT. According to Heizer, Wallace inspected the intersection and said two utility poles would have to be moved farther back from the road before the intersection could be widened. Although both poles have been hit several times, Wallace said it would be very unlikely that the utility company would agree to what could be an expensive undertaking.
“ODOT maintains a record of intersections where utility poles have been hit, and Wallace uses that information when he talks to DP&L and Ohio Edison. He said if we could find a way for whoever owns the poles to move them, ODOT would think about widening the intersection, but that is like an act of God,” said Heizer. “Therefore, that is not a project on their (ODOT’s) agenda.”
The Bath Township Board of Trustees will meet again in regular session at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31, 1006 Yellow Springs–Fairfield Road.
