ASHLAND — Ashland City Council approved a resolution Tuesday night allowing the city of Ashland to join forces with the Ashland County commissioners to replace an old underground bridge on West Main Street.
Under the approved agreement, the county will provide $436,083 from its American Rescue Plan Act and gas tax funds for the bridge, while the city will provide 15,000 tons of asphalt grindings.
The project will also be funded by a $500,000 grant from the Ohio Works Commission that the city and county will apply for together.
“Fortunately, the city and county enjoy a good working relationship and we appreciate working together on that,” council president Steve Workman said.
The underground bridge near the 400 block of West Main Street is over 100 years old and has deteriorated over the past few years, so the local governments decided to start work on a replacement, Mayor Matt Miller said.
“It’s kind of a matter of timing and condition. And right now is a good time. There’s American Rescue Plan dollars available, there’s the opportunity to get this Ohio Public Works Commission grant and so it seems like the best time to move forward with the replacement,” Miller said.
County commissioners and land bank members have previously floated the idea of purchasing four properties near the bridge to tackle flooding from Town Creek, but Miller reiterated that there are currently no plans to do so.
“We’re still working with the engineer to figure out if, in the long run, (purchasing the properties) makes sense. We do not have funding set aside for that but it doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. But there is no plan to acquire these neighboring properties to make this project happen,” Miller said.
In other business, City Council decided to appropriate an additional $1,250,000 for the city’s income tax fund to match this year’s unexpected growth in income tax revenue.
“The local economy seems to be doing quite well, more than what we anticipated, actually, which is a blessing to us to be able to do that,” Ashland Finance Director Larry Paxton said.
