Blanchester, Marion Twp. seek repair of Dudley Road

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BLANCHESTER — A village and township will team up and attempt to improve a road.

Blanchester Village Council approved a resolution allowing the Marion Township Trustees to submit an application for a grant from the Ohio Public Work Commission (OPWC) at Thursday’s meeting.

Greg Hefner, Board President of the Marion Township Trustees, address council about the application for a Dudley Road project.

“With this project, keep in mind, they’ll reclaim eight to 12 inches of the current road base, put it down, roll it, then come back and add limestone to it, re-roll it, add the water to it, then it gets about two-and-a-half inches of asphalt. Keeping in mind that OPWC does not fund chip and seal (projects); it must be blacktop,” said Hefner.

He gave Mayor John Carman and each member of council a breakdown of where trustees are with the project and previous attempts at getting the grant. According to Hefner, the project is budgeted at $395,243.

With the cost of material going up, they resubmitted their application to the OPWC District 10 but did not make the cut; this was because they didn’t get enough points to qualify as a small government project, according to Hefner.

“I was disappointed that it didn’t make the cut,” he told council, adding this was their fourth project of the year and they were partnering with Jefferson Township Trustees.

He told council that if Blanchester and Marion Township shared the 11 percent of costs, they would get more points to be in consideration for funding from OPWC.

If the trustees did this last year, it would’ve resulted in the village paying $19,962 and the township paying $20,668. Eleven percent of the newer budget is $43,475.52.

“The whole idea of the project is to spend as little of local money and spend the rest with state money,” he said.

Also:

• Council approved an ordinance closing Veterans Park between midnight and 5 a.m. The ordinance also indicates violators could be subjected to a misdemeanor charge and face a fine of $100 along with other court costs.

Greg Hefner of the Marion Township Trustees speaks to Blanchester Council about submitting a grant application for a road project at Thursday’s meeting.
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/08/web1_DSC_0675-1.jpgGreg Hefner of the Marion Township Trustees speaks to Blanchester Council about submitting a grant application for a road project at Thursday’s meeting. John Hamilton | News Journal

By John Hamilton

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Reach John Hamilton at 937-382-2574

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