BETTER DEAL … Archbold Village Engineer Dexter Krueger explains that joining the ODOT Cooperative Purchasing Program could save the village money. (PHOTO BY AMY WENDT, STAFF)
By: Amy Wendt
On Monday, February 20, 2023, Archbold Village Council met with all members present except for Councilor Vaughn Bentz.
Upon suspension of the rules, council approved Resolution 2023-10 authorizing participation in ODOT Cooperative Purchasing Program and Resolution 2023-11 authorizing the village administrator to advertise for bids for miscellaneous street resurfacing project, Contract 1-2023.
Village Engineer Dexter Krueger was on hand and offered some insight into the project.
“This is all part of our miscellaneous resurfacing project this year. We’re doing something that we’ve done now for the past three years and that’s installing something called a fiber SAMI.
SAMI stands for Stress Absorbing Membrane Interlayer,” Krueger explained.
“Basically, what it is, is the chip seal with fiberglass reinforcement. We mill down the asphalt surface 1 3/4 inches.”
“We put this fiberglass reinforced chip seal down, which is about 3/4 inch, and then we put about an inch and a half asphalt on top of it.”
“That fiber SAMI helps prevent reflective cracking. So, if the roadway has a lot of stress cracks in it, what it will do is it will prevent those reflective cracks from coming back up to the surface. We’ve had very good success with that.”
“What we found out, is that this one company that does this fiber SAMI in Ohio has gone through the ODOT’s Cooperative Purchasing Program very similar to how we purchase rock salt.”
The village can save a considerable amount of money, “if we go through this Cooperative Purchasing Program as opposed to making it a part of the resurfacing project as we have done in years past,” explained Krueger.
“We can basically just go out and secure that fiber SAMI as a separate contract through ODOT’s co-op program.”
“But to be able to be a part of the program, you have to get ODOT’s blessing, and to get ODOT’s blessing, you need a council resolution stating that the village as a whole is in favor of joining with that program.”
“That’s what this resolution is doing,” concluded Krueger.
Donna Dettling noted, “The interesting thing with the co-op program, is it’s already gone through vetting and bidding, so once we participate with ODOT, we don’t have to go through a bidding process.”
“We can get the same product for substantially less money,” Krueger added.
Krueger also noted that the streets to be resurfaced under the project are as follows: Walnut Street, a portion of South Lincoln, a portion of Meadow Road, Willow Way, and Lindon Lane with an estimated cost of $530,000 including the estimated purchase of the fiber SAMI through the ODOT co-op program.
Other guests of the council meeting included Superintendent Steve Mignin, of Archbold Parks and Recreation who was on hand to introduce the department’s newest park maintenance employee, Jared Kidder.
“We’re really excited to have him. He’s got a lot of experience with what we need. He’s also worked part-time for us before,” explained Mignin.
On Kidder’s estimation, he had worked on a part-time basis for three to four years at the pool and approximately two to three years with the park’s maintenance department before taking this full-time position with the village.
Village Administrator Donna Dettling added that the Park and Recreation Hiring Report also presented to council included the details about the hiring process and outlined “some of the outstanding qualities” of Kidder.
Dettling also noted that it’s a “good thing” that we get to keep another Archbold graduate here to work in the village.
Council heard second readings on the following resolutions:
– Resolution 2023-07: second reading-approve entering into a Community Garden Lease with the Archbold Community Garden Group and authorizing the village administrator to execute and oversee the lease agreement.
Dettling added that there will be a community garden Q & A session Thursday, February 23, 2023, 6:30 pm at the Scout Cabin and she encouraged all council members to attend to show support for the project and to hear firsthand if there are any issues with any neighbors who reside within close proximity to the garden.
– Resolution 2023-09: second reading – a resolution declaring a moratorium on the acceptance of applications relating to the establishment or expansion of small box discount stores Indefinitely.
Council also approved the minutes of the February 6, 2023 meeting and bills & payroll in the amount of $560,437.42.
Council also reviewed the Park Board Packet & Minutes 2-8-2023, the Park & Recreation Hiring Report, and the police department calls for service January 2023.
The next Village Council Meeting will be on Monday, March 6, 2023, at 5:30 p.m.
Amy can be reached at amy@thevillagerecorder.com