Shelby sets 2025 street paving list, timeline, contractor
By David Jacobs
Shelby’s 2025 street paving program is set with six roadways on the list and a timeframe in place.
A new city report lists the following streets for resurfacing:
-- Second Street from Main Street to East Smiley Avenue
-- Third Street
-- Oak Street
-- Summit Street
-- McKinley Drive
-- Forest Drive
The paving contract was awarded to Kokosing Construction Company, which submitted the lowest of four bids. The report noted that Kokosing’s bid totaled $454,778.80, which was below the engineer’s estimate of $482,565.
The work is planned for the summer/early fall between July 1 and Oct. 15.
All details were specified in the report released Friday for Shelby City Council’s Utilities and Streets Committee. The document was written by municipal utilities director John Ensman, Shelby’s deputy public service director.
Shelby's projected initial list was released earlier this year, with efforts continuing since then to finalize the plans and line up a contractor through the bidding process. That part is now complete.
Funding for the 2025 paving will come from the two-tenths of a percent income tax levy passed by voters on May 2, 2023. The five-year levy runs from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2028.
The 2024 collections were $617,000, with 2025 levy collections expected to be similar.
The method for selecting which streets are paved each year was also described in Ensman’s report.
With an independent contractor's help, every Shelby street's condition is checked every five years. The most recent evaluations were completed in 2017 and 2022.
Streets are rated on a numerical scale from 100 to 40 (best to worst). The report stated that streets receiving a score below 65 are considered for either resurfacing or crack sealing.
The report included that the evaluator is an independent former Ohio Department of Transportation employee who "drives and ranks the condition of every street."
Ensman indicated ratings are based on multiple factors, including asphalt degradation, potholes, surface cracking, and the contractor’s technical pavement condition assessment.
In addition to the independent evaluation, Ensman wrote that the Shelby Street Department contributes assessments based on its own observations.
These include pothole activity, crack sealing records, use of the durapatcher, and issues related to snowplowing.
Other factors listed in the report include traffic volumes, resident complaints, and coordination with utility or ODOT projects scheduled in the same areas.
The report stated that the administration compiles this information to build a paving forecast, which compares projected revenue from the street levy with estimated paving costs.
Ensman described the comprehensive data coming together to determine which streets are included in the annual paving schedule.
The report was prepared for the Utilities and Streets Committee led by Councilman at-large Steve McLaughlin, who is joined on the committee by Councilman Eric Cutlip.
I wish they were doing all of 2nd street. It’s horrible the entire way down.