Fire Dept. Addition Due to Wrap End of Year
Back township roads have always attracted drivers with a need for speed.
Back township roads have always attracted drivers with a need for speed.
Be it kids in hot rods, workers late for a job, drivers irritated by detours and those not watching their speedometers — a quiet country lane is a magnet for speeders, despite posted speed limit signs.
If there are no signs, the sky seems to be the limit.
Such is the case with Music Street in Newbury Township.
Resident Jim Stefancin told Newbury Township Trustees Aug. 2 the miles-long stretch of Music from Munn to Auburn roads lacks any speed limit signs. He wondered if there is a speed limit along the narrow road because he has seen many vehicles fly along that section of Music.
The speed limit in Ohio for any unmarked road is 55 miles per hour, said Trustee Greg Tropf.
“Fifty-five?” Stefancin asked. “West of Munn, it’s 45 (mph), on Munn at Bell, it’s 40 (mph). I was just wondering if it’s just not posted?”
Trustee Bill Skomrock said trustees do not have the authority to post speed limit signs.
“We can put in for a reduction, considering the limited sight distance and how narrow (Music) is,” he said, pointing out Munn and Auburn roads are posted 40 and 45 mph and even state Route 87 is posted 45 mph, so it doesn’t make any sense to allow 55 mph on Music.
“Those are all homes along Music. Amazon and FedEx park on the road to make deliveries. That should be illegal,” Skomrock said.
He warned Stefancin speed limit signs won’t go up right away. The posting process goes through the county and state, and a traffic study will probably need to be done by one of them.
“The wheels of government move slowly,” Skomrock said.
Fire Chief Ken Fagan said construction of the fire station addition and the renovation of the interior of the old section has picked up momentum.
“They (demolished) the inside of the station — its one giant room now,” he said. “They are working in the squad bay area.”
Contractor Infinity Construction Co. Inc of Cleveland has been working on the project since spring and supplied a construction newsletter. It updated progress on demolition, including removal of stud walls, ceiling tiles and flooring.
T&G Masonry of Madison reported the block being laid creates a firewall between the old station and the addition, and the walls for the storm shelter are done. Electrical underground and panels are completed, according to contractor Legacy Electric of Solon, and wiring is being rerouted inside to accommodate the new layout of the structure. North American Cement of Independence poured the storm shelter pad on July 28, according to Infinity’s July update.
Wood framing, trusses and plumbing are planned for August.
“Once the walls are up, it will look like something is happening,” Fagan said, adding the progress is being posted on the NVFD Facebook page.
He noted as of Aug. 2, the department had eight calls for the month, including five on Aug. 1 and more than 70 in July.
“We’re running at an unfortunate record pace,” he said.
The Infinity webpage describes the NVFD plan, to be completed by the end of 2023.
“This project involves construction of a 60-foot-by-77-foot, two-story, 9,240-square foot addition to the east side of the current building … in an area now used as a parking lot. The addition will include six dorm rooms, two changing rooms, lockers, restrooms, a fitness center, five offices, a conference room, a reinforced storm shelter, staff kitchen and dining area, a large community/staff training room and IT room,” it said.
While the work is underway, the department plans to use the old bus garage at the former Newbury Schools site for equipment storage.
In other business, trustees discussed advertising for two township positions to cover the duties of office administration, cemetery sexton, zoning commission secretary and board of zoning appeals secretary.
