Mayor: It took four hours to complete asphalt project

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Galion Mayor Tom O’Leary said Monday that it took four hours for a city worker to dispose of asphalt grindings on Nazor Road July 31.

“The total hours for the project were four,” he said. “There was one worker, one vehicle, one truck load of asphalt and the tailgate was used to spread the asphalt.”

O’Leary’s words came as Galion City Treasurer Paula Durbin continued to question the city’s use of public funds on a private property after first raising the issue during last week’s Galion City Council meeting.

Durbin alleges the city used public funds for a private use when they disposed of asphalt grindings on Nazor Road July 31.

In a press conference Thursday, Durbin said she had received an anonymous phone call reporting that the city had sent city workers, city equipment, and city materials to perform work on a private property.

“The city had spread asphalt grindings on a farm lane, some 1,000 feet long.” Durbin said. “Clearly, this project took a lot of labor hours as well as a lot of material. This is illegal.”

O’Leary said he was told the asphalt grinding came from the Portland Way project. According to him, a contractor on the project had grindings he didn’t want, so he gave them to the city to use.

“The grindings are a by-product of what is necessary to repair the road,” Galion City Council member Mike Richart said, “The road is the funding. The grindings are extra, there is no cost involved. Instead of throwing them away, there was a repair issue and they used the grindings to fix the project.”

O’Leary contended that driveway on Nazor Road is being used for school and city purposes.

He said the driveway is used as a turnaround for local school buses.

“In certain weather, when it’s icy the bus goes all the way down the driveway and use the turnaround,” O’Leary said. “This helped create the ruts in the driveway. The city has to access this property to do public work. (Galion) uses this lane to go back on the property to service city fire hydrants. The city also takes our equipment back there to practice our fire equipment.”

O’Leary also said city workers need to be go back to service and maintain the waterline that goes across the ground diagonally towards Crestline.

“These are people who are on our water system and it’s our job to maintain that line,” he said.

Richart said the only access is Nazor Road to the fire hydrants that are in the middle of the field.

Asphalt grindings were laid on this property by Galion City workers on July 31 due to the driveway being washed out after rain early this summer.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2015/10/web1_Nazor-rd1.jpgAsphalt grindings were laid on this property by Galion City workers on July 31 due to the driveway being washed out after rain early this summer.

By Deborah Elaine Evans

[email protected]

Reach Evans at 419-468-1117 ext. 2049 or on Twitter at @deborahevans31

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