Kingsville Township road department garage nearing completion

Aug. 15--KINGSVILLE TOWNSHIP -- The Kingsville Township road department garage is nearing completion, the contractor said at Wednesday night's trustees meeting.

The garage will replace a structure that burned down in July 2016, destroying much of the road department's equipment.

The garage was insured, and the township has received a number of checks for equipment destroyed in the fire. The township's insurance company set a deadline of July 31 to purchase replacements for items lost in the fire.

The garage's expected completion date has slipped several times. The original date, December 2018, was missed due to issues with a heating system. The garage was originally planned to use a forced-air heating system, but there was insufficient natural gas to run the system.

Instead, the garage will use radiated heat from the floor of the garage.

The move-in date slipped again as work continued. After a July move-in date was missed, no new date was given.

John Boczar, the contractor, was present at Wednesday's meeting to give an update.

Bollards in front of the garage need to be painted, along with pouring bases for some supports, and cleaning, Boczar said on Thursday. Final inspections need to be completed, and a revised set of structural plans approved, then the garage will be finished, he said.

In other business:

--Complaints from township residents about the fire department continued, with Ladimer Kubicheck asking for information about the number of shifts this month with only one person on staff.

There were eight shifts so far this month with only one person. EMS calls require at least two people.

Trustees said the empty shifts were due to demand for firefighters and paramedics exceeding the number of people in the profession, and said that this was not only a problem for Kingsville, but one that is plaguing the entire county.

The rates Kingsville Township pays are at the low end for the area, trustees said.

--The Spring for Sidewalks 5K has plans to start pouring sidewalks soon, and the trustees approved a form for the group to use to receive permission to work on private property. Trustees also discussed paying for work on the sidewalk on Academy Street, but did not make a decision at the meeting.

--Work on several road projects is expected to start soon, dependent on a contractor who has the required equipment.

The work, underdrains on Brydle Road, was scheduled for earlier this year, but had to be delayed due to wet weather.

Only one contractor in the area is capable of doing the projects, trustees said at the meeting. By the time the road had dried enough for work to begin, the contractor was committed to other projects.

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