Bike path repairs in limbo as sides argue

MIDDLETOWN — Taxpayers may be on the hook for thousands of dollars in repairs to a bike path city officials say was damaged while repairing sinkholes.

SHOULDN'T SURPRISE ANYONE. SEVERAL THINGS IN LIFE ARE A GIVEN....DEATH....TAXES.....THE TAXPAYER FOOTING THE BILL FOR SOME SPECIAL AGENDA ITEM THAT HAS BEEN MESSED UP IN MIDDLETOWN AND THAT THE CITY LEADERS WILL SCREW UP ANY AND ALL THINGS THAT THEY TOUCH.

SERIOUSLY, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THIS CITY HAS TAKEN ON A MAJOR PROJECT AND GOTTEN IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME? ISN'T THERE ALWAYS A SCREWUP ALONG THE WAY DUE TO ILL PLANNING, NOT ASSURING ALL THE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE ARE IN PLACE BEFORE STARTING AND A GENERAL MALAISE OF BOTCHED DECISION-MAKING FROM THE CURRENT CROP OF BAD LEADERS?

YEARS AGO, PAST CITY LEADERS BOTCHED THE REMOVAL OF THE LEVY SEPARATING LAKE MIDDLETOWN FROM THE RIVER AND THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS FINED THE CITY $350,000 FOR THE DECISION TO REMOVE THE LEVY WITHOUT THE ENGINEERS APPROVAL.(STILL DON'T KNOW WHO THE GUILTY PARTY WAS FOR THAT SCREW-UP) HERE, WE HAVE A FAIRLY NEW BIKE PATH THAT IS ALREADY STARTING TO DEVELOP ISSUES AS TO FUNCTIONALITY AND RIDER USAGE AND IT LOOKS LIKE, BY THE FIGURES, THE CITY IS PUMPING MORE NON-BUDGETED MONEY INTO THIS WHITE ELEPHANT TO MAKE IT USABLE. TYPICAL CLUSTER. USING THE MONEY FOR CITY BUILDING UPGRADES FOR MONEY SAVINGS RATHER THAN A BIKE PATH USED BY <5% OF THE PEOPLE SURE LOOKS GOOD ABOUT NOW, DOESN'T IT?

IT WOULD APPEAR THE CITY LEADERS COULDN'T FIND THEIR BEHINDS WITH THE AID OF A BLUEPRINT.

No

Vivian Moon wrote: <SPAN ="credit"> <H1 ="articleline">City adds to contract for sewer repairs</H1>By Andy Sedlak, Staff Writer </SPAN><SPAN ="publishdate">Updated 9:24 PM Tuesday, August 16, 2011 </SPAN>     MIDDLETOWN — City Council Tuesday night agreed to further add to a contract with a local construction company as part of an ongoing project to repair corroded sewer pipes along the Great Miami Recreation Trail. A total of $113,914 was added to the existing $740,000 contract with SK Construction Co. to repair the pipes, which led to the creation of two 30-feet wide sinkholes. This stretches the contract’s worth to $853,914, according to David Duritsch, director of public works and utilities. The additional money was needed to cover costs that Duritsch said were elevated because of overly saturated ground, gravel removal and an unforeseen amount of bypass pumping done while the sewer lines were being tended to. The first contract with SK Construction was agreed upon in March at a cost of $265,000. An additional $475,000 was added in May because of unusually heavy rainfall, additional collapse and unforeseen work that needed to be completed. City Manager Judy Gilleland and Mayor Larry Mulligan both said the heart of the issue was the city’s aging infrastructure. <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" ="Msonormal"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; COLOR: blue">And then Mr Duritsch informed us that the cost of repairing the bike path again would also be paid for from the SEWER FUND however he didn’t know the cost of said repairs but not to worry since the repairs would be done by the City Street Department and their new equiptment… Please remember that earlier this year Mr. Barge was told hat the City did not have $200,000 to start the cleanup of the canal...now we are repairing the bike path from the SEWER FUND???And we sit and wonder where all the money in the SEWER FUNDS has been spent over the years…</SPAN>

Was there a bid process before the repairs started? Was SK Construction the only contractor that bid on the job, or was SK the ONLY one allowed to bid on the job? Let's see.... $265,000 originally, then an added $475,000 and now another addition of $113,914. Guess there is no need for SK to bid on other jobs if they keep bilking the city on this project is there?

I like this line....

City Manager Judy Gilleland and Mayor Larry Mulligan both said the heart of the issue was the city’s aging infrastructure

No kidding? Guess that's a start from both of these people....you gotta admit you have a problem before you can start to correct it. Problem is, both of them (along with the others) will find a way to spend money on everything EXCEPT the aging infrastructure (and roads)

It is the same old song and dance from the city leaders.....when a crisis arises and money is needed, the claim from them is they don't have the money......then a miracle occurs and money is magically found to pay for the projects that THEY deem as essential. The canal (and the vault) are not essential nor of interest to them and they will find no magic in creating money to fix the problem. They have always moved money around and in and out of funds for years with the General Fund being the centerpiece for dispensing to other areas and for their special, buddy driven projects. There have been times, when questioned, when they (city leaders/council members) could provide no explanation as to why certain money movement had occured.

Add this bike path repair fiasco to a long list of cluster-- the city has engaged in. We already know the other screwups on the list. Mercy.

ground swat wrote: If we don't fix the bike path the new downtown czars plan maybe ham stringed for all the additional traffic coming into our new and improved tourist distination.

I'd agree with you swat, but that tourist thing went out the window when Kasich killed Mulligan's high speed choo choo train coming into town and bringing with it carriage rides from the train station down Central to the Pendleton and Beau Verre artzy area and creating a beehive of activity, according to our city leaders downtown. Since the Pendleton, as anticipated, isn't turning out to be the arts mecca of the Midwest as a tourist draw, all we have now is the brightly colored buildings along Central as our attraction to out-of-towners. You don't need to go to Tijuana Mexico. We have a "touch of Tijuana" right here in the old pueblo of Middletown, don't cha know. Now if blight and slums is what they want to see, heck, we have plenty of that. (why am I picturing the shacks that sit on the hillside overlooking Rio De Janiero about now?)

Ms. Moon maybe the new czar will move this along, by the way what is Downtown?  Using street names what area does it cover?  Don't mean to be stupid but once again staying in a more relaxed mood what area will this new person cover for $50,000?

Ground Swat

Thanks Ms. Moon got a little off track with Mr. P's content in his first post.  Well the taxpayers are stuck with this 7-8ft wide stretch of asphalt.  Maintenance on a levee I thought should really only be tree removal so roots don't cause openings and mowing the grass.  How about this for enjoying the river bottoms views, put a boat ramp in so some of us could enjoy the "RIVER" like countless others did years ago. Our fishing and hunting permits do support this benefit that all of us have really payed for.  The folks that watch over this marvel of human thinking and resolve aren't always happy about getting in "Their" river.  Without a doubt some of the most ass backwards thinking people making decisions on recreation.  Lets go clean up the flood plain so the walkers can walk their dogs.

Eleven says....

REALLY?? SK is bilking the city? I'm sure there are many, many companies just lining up to work with our city goverment...I suppose they should have predicted the record rainfalls we had and the MCD driving up and down the bike path daily and factored it into their bid? Not to mention the other sewer collapse..Nice dig at a Middletown based company though. Just had to say it bc I know how much we love when companies from out of town come in and take our tax dollars with them when they leave...    

I said that Eleven, because it seems that everytime the city needs some work done, they appear to always contact SK. My point was, isn't there any other companies, either within the city limits or out of town, that would do the work cheaper than this or is SK the only company that Middletown officials use? If it is the latter, perhaps we can then ask the question "do we have some favors being done between someone on council, who approve the bids, someone in the city building who may be automatically recommending SK, when others have bid on the job, or perhaps we have a standing contract with SK to fix any and all issues. I don't know the answer as to why SK always keeps showing up as the winner in being awarded the work. Knowing the city officials can't be trusted, one is prone to ask these questions. Furthermore, as I stated, this started out as a $265,000 project, escalated to another $475,000 and now an additional $113,914. When one sees this happening, shouldn't there be some questions asked? Not being negative...just making some observations as to what may be construed as to bilking and a company that seems to get the bids all the time. The citizens are not allowed to question how their money is spent and if there are any special favors being done as to bidding practices? Are you taking the city leaders attitude that we mere citizens are not allowed to question? If so, it ain't gonna happen bud.

Bike path damages near $30K
Two sections were damaged during repair of sinkholes.

By Andy Sedlak, Staff Writer Updated 1:55 AM Sunday, September 11, 2011

MIDDLETOWN — Costs to repair two sections of a bike path city officials say was damaged during the repair of two sinkholes along the Great Miami Recreation Trail have totaled close to $30,000.

Two sections of the trail — one just north of Sixth Avenue and the other south of Windsor Avenue and Maple Street — were heavily damaged last spring following the formation of the 30-foot-wide holes that formed as a result of corroded sewer pipes.

City crews finished making the repairs in early September. Costs were comprised of $26,790 for asphalt material and $2,686 for gravel for a total material cost of $29,476, according to David Duritsch, director of public works and utilities.

The damage to the southern portion was caused by a contractor of the Miami Conservancy District who hauled material gravel to fill the sinkhole.

The city has already paid about $850,000 to repair corroded sewer pipes along the trail.

“In the heat of the battle, when you’re trying to protect the levy, that’s the kind of stuff that happens,” Duritsch said. “I don’t think the damage overall was as bad as I (initially) thought.”

The MCD put some funds toward the repairs, Durtisch said, but the exact amount could not be determined Friday.

“Part of the issue is they’re out of the bike path business,” he said. “We met with them and they were being supportive in any way they could. In the end, they did have some monies available for some of the gravel we needed for base.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or asedlak@coxohio.com.

 No comment…

"Costs were comprised of $26,790 for asphalt material and $2,686 for gravel for a total material cost of $29,476, according to David Duritsch, director of public works and utilities."

So, the City has given us the costs for asphalt and gravel (materials) but what were the costs for the LABOR, equipment usage, supervision, consumables, and the like???  Until we know these line items, we wil not know the true costs of this job.

 

 

(Ditto for the Sunset Pool demolition.)

Also of interest, would be the amount of overtime involved.