At a work session which preceded Monday night’s City Council meeting, Fire Chief Phil Hart and Captain Steve Gallo brought the governing body up to speed on the condition of Truck 522, a 2005 pumper which has been out of commission for about a month. The vehicle, which has clocked over 40,000 miles, has problems with the Jake brake and electrical components within the engine.

 

To potentially repair the unit would require a complete overhaul of the wiring system which would be costly and perhaps not even successful. Even if brought back to a good working state, the truck likely has only another three to four years before it would need replaced.

 

Hart and Gallo stated that replacement is a timely issue as it is difficult to get the larger ladder truck across some city streets and rural areas. The ordering and manufacturing of a new truck to take its place would cost about $650,000 and take nine to 12 months before it would be in service. A demo is available that can be spec’d out exactly like the current Truck 522 and received in about a month.

 

“This has been going on for over 30 days now and this came to a point this morning that I think it constitutes a pretty strong emergency on our part,” said City Manger Kim Haws.

 

At the regular Council session, Councilman Bob Greer made a motion to take $578,000 from the capital reserve fund for the purchase of the demo unit. The warranty on the new vehicle is still intact and should have a lifetime of about 15 years.

 

“The money is available in our budget reserve for fire department structural renovations and there will be $296,983 remaining in that account at this time,” he said.

 

The budget revision passed unanimously. 

 

Haws spoke of another matter in work session for which action was taken in the regular meeting to follow.

 

“I’ve been in the process of researching and collecting data on securing a consulting firm to come in and make an assessment of the city’s energy usage and make a recommendation of any possible changes which would be cost effective

and create a strategy for us,” he said. “Matt Looker, our safety individual, has been involved in this and I’ve put him in charge of doing the searches.”

 

Tower Engineering out of Pittsburgh  submitted a proposal for $19,900 to conduct research of six city-owned buildings, looking at mechanical, electrical, plumbing, utility bills and other components associated with energy cost and effectiveness.

 

Street lights would also be considered which, at present, bear a $150,000 per year electric bill, Mayor Andy Lang said.

 

Council voted to hire Tower Engineering, the only firm submitting a proposal, to perform the energy audit.

 

“We’ve been looking for a number of months to contract with a top-graded firm to come in and look at all electrical light usage and this one out of Pittsburgh met all those criteria,” Haws said. “It is our recommendation that we enter into a contract for $19,900 with no need of a contingency on this.”

 

Council also voted to award a contract to Lobec, Inc. to extend the Center Street parking lot. Lobec presented a bid for $28,280 plus a 10 percent contingency ($2,828) to cover any unforeseen issues.  

 

“We had two companies bid on this project and after looking at bids and specs administered in the bid packages, our city engineer recommended that Council award the contract to Lobec, which includes preparation of additional parking areas at the Center Street lot and we’re hoping to increase parking 10-15 spaces, depending on how it lays out,” Haws said.

 

The project will provide additional spaces to the lot which was built in 2016, parallel to Main Street and accessible to motorists from Center Street and to foot traffic via a pedestrian bridge between Murray, Queen and Company and Nationwide Insurance: Doug Marquette Agency. The original project provided parking for 20 vehicles, but more spaces are needed as patrons visit downtown businesses.

 

Council also voted to appoint Bill Hostutler to the Bridgeport Development Authority for a term of three years. That recommendation came from BDA Chairman John Stogran and Council unanimously voted in favor of the recommendation.

 

Bridgeport resident Cheryl Farley spoke to Council, requesting the governing body look into constructing a sidewalk at the end of Woodland Drive, the entrance to Woodside Heights. She brought with her a petition, signed by 44 other neighborhood members.

 

“There’s no safe place to walk when picking up children after school,” Farley said. “This is a small investment for the safety of our children, as well as walkers, joggers and others that come through the area.”

 

Both Council member Dustin Vincent and Haws said they were aware of the need for the sidewalk and said the city was working toward that effort. Farley was thanked for being proactive and helping to speed the process along. The area is a state right-of-way, Haws said, so it is necessary to coordinate with the Department of Highways.

 

Father Benny Kapa of All Saints Catholic Church opened Monday evening's meeting in prayer, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. 

 

Read additional coverage of Monday’s meeting, pertaining to the hiring of a consulting firm to facilitate a search for a new city manager HERE.