Dave Spencer, owner of Trimble Brick Landscape Construction, points out the area where a new landscaping project will take place at the Athens County Courthouse during the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. The proposed site will feature a sandstone wall, similar to the lighter color stone on the courthouse, wide enough for people to use for seating. The white overhang above the door will also be redone, replacing the old stone with new one.
Athens County Commissioners Lenny Eliason (right) and Charlie Adkins listen as Trimble Brick Landscape Construction owners Dave Spencer and Mandy Riley-Spencer discuss the proposed landscape improvement project in front of the county courthouse Tuesday as part of the Commissioners’ meeting. Phase I would include reducing the size of the garden by about three feet in the front and replacing the concrete wall with a sandstone wall wide enough for people to sit on. A wought-iron fence would be behind the stone wall to help prevent garden visitors.
Dave Spencer, owner of Trimble Brick Landscape Construction, points out the area where a new landscaping project will take place at the Athens County Courthouse during the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. The proposed site will feature a sandstone wall, similar to the lighter color stone on the courthouse, wide enough for people to use for seating. The white overhang above the door will also be redone, replacing the old stone with new one.
Athens County Commissioners Lenny Eliason (right) and Charlie Adkins listen as Trimble Brick Landscape Construction owners Dave Spencer and Mandy Riley-Spencer discuss the proposed landscape improvement project in front of the county courthouse Tuesday as part of the Commissioners’ meeting. Phase I would include reducing the size of the garden by about three feet in the front and replacing the concrete wall with a sandstone wall wide enough for people to sit on. A wought-iron fence would be behind the stone wall to help prevent garden visitors.
Monday’s rains put a damper on some of the work related to the US 50 Sanitary Sewer Project.
Water and Sewer Superintendent Rich Kasler and Gary Silcott, director of DLZ Constriction, talked to the Athens County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday during its regular meeting.
Commission President Lenny Eliason said that he and Silcott recently toured some of the project sites and noted the clean-up at some of the sites has improved. A few were waiting for grass to grow to help prevent runoff, and Monday’s heavy rains caused drainage ditches and ditches for pipes to be refilled with soil and debris, and effectively washed some of the new grass away.
According to Athens County EMA Director Don Gossel, the excessive rainfall could have resulted in reports of road slips and culvert damage over the next one to three days from township trustees. No tornadoes or structure damaged were reported as of Tuesday morning.
According to Silcott, the following progress has been made on the US 50 Sanitary Sewer Project:
Adkins noted that Phase D’s difference between the contract time used and how much work has been done either means the crew will have a lot of work to do, not they’re not going to complete the project on time.
The commissioners have the option of liquidated damages, Silcott said. The option covers the cost of any loss of revenue. He suggested waiting until projects reach 75% contract time used before looking re-coop the county’s losses.
In other matters, Commissioners unanimously approved spending $101,750 out of its American Rescue Plan funds to pay bonuses to first-responders in the EMS department who worked between March 15, 2020 and July 18, 2021. The bonuses will include $2,500 for full-time employees, $1,000 for part-time employees and $250 for auxiliary members.
According to Adkins, Auditor Jill Thompson will do a separate check for the bonuses and take out any necessary tax deductions.
In other matters, the Board of Commissioners approved first phase of a project to redo the landscaping in front of the Athens County Courthouse.
The commissioners expect to pay $57,000 for the first phase for the project, which will include the garden to the left of the courthouse stairs, the side closest to the annex.
According to Dave Spencer, owner of Trimble Brick Landscape Construction, the garden will be shortened by about three feet so it won’t impede with the walking path. A wall made of a sandstone composite brick that is similar in color to the beige stones in the courthouse will be installed with a top stone that will be wide enough for sitting. Behind the stone wall will be a wrought-iron fence.
The second phase of the project will be landscaping on the other side of the courthouse stairs, near Washington Street.
Mandy Spencer, who works with her husband, said they have been discussing the project with the county since February. She noted that since then, the prices of their materials has gone up 20 percent. They are expected to increase by 8.5% in July.
By approving the project during Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners locked in a cheaper price. Mandy Spencer said the company it works with makes the bricks on-site and it can take up to five weeks for an order to be processed.
“We hoped to get this project done before the students got back,” she said. “If we get our materials on time, we should be able to do it (before then).”
Eliason said he will send the proposed project to the city for informational purposes.
In other matters, the commissioners:
The Athens County Commissioners will next meet at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in board chambers, second floor of the Athens County Courthouse Annex.
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