Camden Council moves forward with multiple projects

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CAMDEN— Camden Village Council moved forward with a $600,000 town hall renovation project when Bruce Perry was unanimously hired as the as the project’s general contractor during a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 6.

Perry, who has now retired after spending many years as a general contractor for high-end houses, encouraged the council to explore the option of seeking as many volunteers for the project as possible. Perry said he has done projects for Habitat for Humanity and says volunteers are a great way to get the community involved in the project. Perry himself will be volunteering for the project.

Council member Mellissa Shull expressed concerns the project did not go out for bids, but Perry assured her the building committee will have the final say in any contracts signed through him.

Council members Todd Angell and Roy Ebbing were not present for the vote. Ebbing arrived later in the meeting and Angell was absent for the entirety.

Kevin Foote was also hired to do the masonry work on the project, as he placed a bid for $41,000 for labor and $13,000 for supplies. Council member Kelly Doran made the motion to approve the contract, saying he did not believe a cheaper bid would come through if the process went to bid.

Shull was the only council member to vote “no” as she continued to express concerns the projects were not going through a public bid process, fearing the project would become “a good ole boy” project if projects were not opened to the public for bidding.

Council also accepted the loan terms for State Infrastructure projects to help with the paving and repairs to streets and alleys within Camden. The terms were for a $302,000 loan with no payments due for the first 31 months. Shull was the only council member to not vote “yes.”

Council decided to move forward with both the base bid and two alternate bids for the Second Street CDBG and OPWC grant projects.

The first alternate bid is for a storm sewer upgrade for Cottage Street while the second is for a sewer upgrade on Cottage Street.

The village is responsible for $13,600 from park funds and $130,302.31 from sewer, water and street funds to complete the projects. This is 24 percent of the total project cost which equates to 76 percent from grants according to Village Administrator Nelson McKeever.

Council also voted to renew the village’s current insurance agency and policy with VFIS of Ohio after discussed the possibility of switching to a public entities pool during the past couple of months. Council approved the motion 5-0, as Doran said council should continue to learn more about insurance policies so they can continue to search for the best policy for the village.

Council discussed the possibility of hiring an insurance consultant but Doran said he was quoted a $150 an hour to do so.

The village clean-up week will be the week of Aug. 10-15.

Camden Village Council meets the first and third Thursdays of each month at 7 p.m. at the Camden Village Offices.

By Austin Schmidt

[email protected]

Reach Austin Schmidt at 937-683-4062 or at [email protected]

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