Proposed improvements at Gold Star Park were approved Thursday in emergency legislation by Marietta City Council.
Council authorized the director of public safety and service to advertise for bids for the demolition of an unused building in poor condition at Gold Star Park. Council unanimously suspended the second and third readings of the ordinance, followed by a vote to adopt it.
Council also approved Ordinance 135 for construction of the Gold Star Park Memorial Trail Phase II Project to pave most of the remaining portion of the designated walking trail design for an amount not to exceed $47,775 and appropriating a portion of American Rescue Plan Act Funds for the project. A small portion of the trail will be left unpaved until a later date, to provide equipment access for tennis court renovations.
The ordinance authorizes the Public Safety and Service Director to enter into a contract agreement with Smith’s Stylecrete and Construction, Marietta, to do the work.
Council also voted to suspend the second and third readings of the following ordinances and resolutions had been designated as emergency legislation, then voted to adopt them:
∫ Ordinance 136 to enter an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation to provide bridge inspection services for the City of Marietta.
∫ Resolution 49 accepting the amounts and rates determined by the Budget Commission of Washington County and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifiying them to the County Auditor.
∫ Resolution 51, authorizing a revised application to the Ohio Public Works Commission for the 2023 Citywide Asphalt Resurfacing and Americans with Disabilities Act Curb Ramp Project, and to obligate the necessary matching funds from the city if funding is approved. As City Engineer Joe Tucker told city council members at a committee meeting last week, this will increase the grant and loan and decrease the local match, saving the city approximately $100,000 if the funding is approved.
Council also began the process of accepting the donation for a planned new park bench on the riverbank in Harmar. Council approved the first reading of Resolution 50, authorizing installation of a 6-foot bench with a plaque on Fort Street, through a donation to the Marietta Park Bench Donation Program by Fourth Ward residents Ed and Cathy Engle. Councilman Geoff Schenkel said the donation was an example of the many public-minded works the Engles have done.
“Mr. and Mrs. Engles’ good work in the Fourth Ward is a model in bringing people together,” he said.
In the public address portion of the meeting, Virginia Street resident Sheila Reynolds of Win Beri apartments told council that she would like them to consider flashing lights for a walkway, in order to alert motorists that there is heavy pedestrian traffic crossing Virginia Street at the point where Franklin Street meets it.
In other business, Finance Committee Chair Michael Scales said he will be meeting soon with County Commission President Charlie Schilling to discuss the countywide 911 plan, and he and Councilwoman Susan Boyer will be visiting the 911 center in Belmont, which serves a population comparable to Washington County.
Schenkel, chairman of the Planning and Zoning Committee, encouraged residents to check the ReimagineMarietta.com. website regularly. Public input sessions about the city’s planning and zoning update efforts will be held, he said.
Upcoming committee meeting dates include Finance, Oct. 17; Water and Sewer, Oct. 11, with the first presentation of the rate study connected with new water treatment plant construction; Planning and Zoning, and Streets, Oct. 13; and Employee Relations, Oct. 13.
Nancy Taylor can be reached at ntaylor@newsandsentinel.com