Ashtabula council hears concerns on railroad underpass
ASHTABULA — A visitor shared concerns about a railroad underpass on Lake Avenue at a city council meeting Monday.
Anthony Oquendo said he and other local residents are concerned the bridge is deteriorating.
'[Other residents] share the same thought that I do, when driving underneath the bridge — that thought of 'I hope today isn't the day it collapses,'' he said.
Oquendo gave council members photos of the bridge he said he took and shared over social media.
'They show significant corrosion eating away at the steel beams that hold the structure together,' he said. 'The response to those images have been overwhelming to say the least, with over 340 shares, and hundreds of comments from residents.'
Oquendo said the underpass becoming impassible could delay ambulances reaching Ashtabula Regional Medical Center.
Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere said he will be talking with CSX about the bridge at a meeting he has scheduled with them.
'We need to get down the path of how they're going to replace that bridge in my opinion,' he said. 'Those are ongoing discussions that we have had with them for several years.'
Timonere said the city may soon reach out to congressional leadership on the issue.
Timonere said CSX is federally required to do annual inspections, but the results are not available to the city.
The city began independent annual inspections a few years ago, he said.
'It certainly wasn't an A, but it wasn't an F,' he said. 'It was somewhere in the middle.'
Council President John Roskovics said council could pass a resolution calling for the bridge to be replaced, which would then be sent to CSX and the federal government.
Before their meeting, council had a public hearing on establishing a Designated Outdoor Recreation Area in the Harbor.
According to the Ohio Department of Commerce, a DORA is a geographical area exempt from certain open container laws.
Timonere said the DORA would include several venues along Bridge Street.
'We're trying to establish this for the historic Ashtabula Harbor area,' he said.
Timonere said special cups would be given out at establishments as part of the DORA.
There was no public comment at the hearing, but council questioned Timonere on the issue.
Roskovics asked what would happen if a person kept a DORA cup, and used it for outside alcohol in the DORA.
Timonere said he and city law enforcement know they will have to look out for that.
Council will vote on the DORA as their June 2 meeting.
Timonere hopes the DORA will be in place by the start of the Beach Glass Festival, in late June.
Council amended an agreement with the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments for the city's downtown revitalization project, which is focusing on improvements to Main Street.
Timonere said Eastgate was interested in directly paying contractors for the project.
Council welcomed Vladimir Kan as the city's new finance director.
He replaces Marie Yvrose Augustin, whose last day was Friday.
The city entered into a contract with Lake Erie Construction Company, for them to repair a section of guardrail on West Avenue.
'It looks like it's been hit, although we don't have any police reports on it,' Timonere said.
City firefighters will be eligible for the position of fire lieutenant after seven years of service, as opposed to ten, after council changed civil service regulations.
Council will vote on 11 proposed zoning moratoriums at the June 2 meeting.
They are on:
• Accessory structures over 200 square feet
• Auto and truck rental locations
• Boarding and rooming houses not licensed by Ohio Housing Recovery
• Check cashing and payday lending businesses
• Convenience and dollar stores
• E-cigarette, vaping and tobacco sales
• Food trucks with permanent locations
• Junk and scrap yards
• Motor vehicle fuel dispensing
• Thrift and secondhand stores
• Used and new motor vehicle sales locations
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