{"id":184017,"date":"2024-09-23T21:12:13","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T02:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=184017"},"modified":"2024-09-24T21:13:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T02:13:49","slug":"council-hears-road-construction-state-audit-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2024\/09\/23\/council-hears-road-construction-state-audit-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"Council hears road and audit updates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert City Council heard some good news about the pending Bonnewitz Ave. extension project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Monday night\u2019s meeting, Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming told council members that bids for the project came in a bit lower than the original estimate of $1.6 million and he said work is slated to begin very soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were six bidders who submitted bids and we got the bid of $1.2 million,\u201d Fleming said. \u201cThere were several bids under the engineer\u2019s estimate so that was refreshing to have that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mayor Ken Markward gives a brief update on blighted properties around the city. Scott Truxell\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fenson Contracting of Fort Jennings was awarded the bid and Fleming said a pre-construction meeting is planned for today. The Bonnewitz Ave. extension will cross N. Washington St. and go approximately 1,000 feet. The project should be complete by late spring or early summer, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council members approved three other measures related to the project accepting small pieces of nearby land needed for the project. Fleming also gave an update on the ongoing Leeson Ave. re-construction project, which began in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a little over halfway with the excavation and putting stone back in and that should wrap up within a couple of weeks,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019ll really start to speed up and you\u2019ll see some big changes over the next 2-3-4 weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his report, Mayor Ken Markward gave a brief update on the city\u2019s handling of blighted properties and noted three such properties are now in the court system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City Auditor Erika Blackmore told council members that the state\u2019s audit is complete and is 65 pages. She noted the audit noted there were three occasions in 2023 that council went into executive session and the reason why was not put in the official minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went back to the videos and it was spoken what the executive session was for but it was not put in the minutes,\u201d she said. \u201cThe state auditors don\u2019t look at the videos, they just look at the minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said also said 30 percent of council members last year did not do sunshine law training as required by law and she urged all council members to complete the training, which is good for each two-year term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blackmore also requested that council approve a \u201cthen and now\u201d invoice for $4,648 for Asphalt Materials Inc. It was approved 6-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Law Director John Hatcher said texting while driving cases remain high in Van Wert Municipal Court. In April of last year, the state\u2019s distracted driving law became a primary offense. The new law gave authorities probable cause to pull over motorists if they witness them illegally using a cell phone or other electronic device while behind the wheel. It is illegal in most circumstances for anyone in Ohio to use or hold a cell phone or electronic device while driving. Citations are mandatory and must be issued by law enforcement officers. If found guilty, penalties range from $150 to $500 plus court costs and a possible license suspension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next meeting of Van Wert City Council will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, October 14, in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor Van Wert City Council heard some good news about the pending Bonnewitz Ave. extension project. During Monday night\u2019s meeting, Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming told council members that bids for the project came in a bit lower than the original estimate of $1.6 million and he said work is slated to begin very […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-22 20:44:19","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184017"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184103,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184017\/revisions\/184103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}