By J.T. WHITEHOUSE

Staff writer

CANFIELD TOWNSHIP — Trustees approved the Fox Den road paving project and held a bid opening on a second project at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The second project was put out for bid after the first project bid came in so low.

At the May township meeting, trustees held a bid opening with the low bidder Karvo Companies Inc. of Stow at $332,449.50. The other bids were R.T. Vernal Paving and Excavating of North Lima at $474,902.50; Lindy Paving Inc. of New Galilee, Pa., at $384,970.50; Barbicas Construction Company Inc. of Akron at $395,146; and Kirila Contractors Inc. of Brookfield at $372,896. All were well under the engineer’s estimate of $523,024.

“Because Fox Den came in so low, we thought we could do more for 2025,” said Canfield Township Trustees Chairman Brian Governor.

He said with the huge savings over the estimated amount from May, combined with additional sales tax funds from the county, it was decided to do more roads this year. A second bid request went out last month and two companies bid on a base project and alternates.

The second paving project would have a base bid for McCarty Drive and Meadowview Road. The bid would include alternate bids for each road alone with McCarty as Alternate A, and Meadowview as Alternate B in the bid package.

Dave Bakalar from Thomas Fok and Associates said his estimate for the project was $230,352 for both roads, and $165,190 for Alternate A and $73,662 for Alternate B.

Only two bids were received with the first from Kirila Contractors Inc. of Brookfield bidding $159,499.50 for the base, and $120,681 for Alternate A, and $64,990 for Alternate B.

The second bidder was Karvo Companies of Stow with a base bid of $189,219.20 and $137,236.75 for Alternate A and $58,464.95 for Alternate B.

Bakalar took the bids — which are both below the estimates — and left the meeting. He will review them and make a suggestion at a future meeting.

While the second project is weeks away from approval, the present Fox Den project should be ready to go. Trustees unanimously approved Karvo Companies of Stow for the 2025 Ohio Public Works Commission paving program for the Fox Den Development at a cost not to exceed $332,449.50 along with a contingency fund of $10,000.

SPEEDING IN TOWNSHIP

Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeff Allen spoke on speeding in the township. He said speeding still happens, but since trustees agreed to add another car, the speeding issues have decreased.

“We have been mixing up the times and areas so no one knows when we will be there,” he said. “Our speeding calls are way down.”

Trustee Joe Paloski asked Allen about the sheriff’s speed sign trailer. Allen said it is more than 10 years old and the software is outdated. He said it used to record the number of vehicles and average speed, but it doesn’t any more.

“We are checking with IT to see if it can be updated,” Allen said.

Trustees thanked Allen for his report and turned to a request to have Williamsburg Drive posted at 25 mph. Road Department employee Shawn Stack was filling in for Administrator Keith Rogers and said he would get a sign on the street.

“It’s warranted,” Governor said.

In other business:

• Trustee Marie Cartwright informed four residents from the Abbey Road area that steps are being taken to deal with their flooding issues. She said one drive on Ironwood was adding a little to the backyard flooding and the new owners of a business nearby were having a study done. She said if the study calls for a retention pond, then the question will be where it should go.

• Approval was given for Baird’s Tree Service to remove seven trees, grind the stumps and remove all debris from around the proposed pickleball courts site.

• Trustees accepted an anonymous donation of $10,000 that will be used for the new pickleball courts.