YOUNGSTOWN — Robin Lees, the former police chief fired last month by Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, is getting a $12,128.75 severance from the city.

As this is the second time Lees has left the police department, it’s his second severance.

This one is significantly less than the first as Lees worked for the city for a much longer time during his initial employment.

The board of control Thursday approved the latest severance payment to Lees, which is primarily $11,233.33 for unused sick time.

The rest is $805 for “hazardous duty” pay, which is given to all ranking police officers, and $90.42 for a monthly uniform allowance.

Brown announced Jan. 7 that he was firing Lees, effective Jan. 15, as police chief because of differing opinions between the two about the department’s direction.

Lees was planning to retire at the end of this year before Brown made his decision.

Lees was paid $94,249.79 in annual salary.

He first retired in early 2011 after more than 30 years on the force. The city paid $63,100.84 in severance to Lees at the time with about $36,810 for “accumulated time,” which is deferred overtime. He was a lieutenant at the time of his initial retirement.

Lees was brought back in January 2014 by then-Mayor John A. McNally and retained by Brown, when he started as mayor in January 2018.

Brown promoted Carl Davis to chief from detective sergeant on Jan. 15.

MANAGEMENT CONTRACT

The board also approved a $1,569,770 contract Thursday with Environmental Design Group of Akron to provide construction administration and inspection services for a $15,791,100 improvement project to several downtown and nearby streets that will be done starting in the spring and finish in 2023.

That work is for Front, Federal and Commerce streets and Fifth, Park and Rayen avenues with Marucci and Gaffney Excavating Co. of Youngstown as the general contractor.

It includes paving, improved lighting, widening sidewalks, streetscaping and changing the number of lanes in some sections.

This work is part of the $26 million to $31 million improvement project to the streets, called SMART2 (Strategic and Sustainable, Medical and Manufacturing, Academic and Arts, Residential and Recreation, and Technology and Training) Network. The city and its partners received a $10.85 million federal grant for the work in December 2018.

EDG is also providing the same construction administration and inspection services for the first phase of the project: on Fifth Avenue between West Federal Street and Eastbound Service Road.

EDG is being paid $679,894 for that job. Parella-Pannunzio Inc. of Austintown is the general contractor on the $6,921,088 project that is to be finished July 5.

After all of the street projects are finished, the city and its partners will add an autonomous bus service that will be just the second of its kind in the state. Columbus is the only city in Ohio with the service.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com