Thursday, July 08, 1999
Bridge restoration fees to be examined
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — The Butler County prosecutor's office will examine questions about possible cost overruns on the Black Covered Bridge restoration project.
A representative of the prosecutor's office will meet with Butler County Engineer Dean Foster today to discuss the engineer office's June 21 request that the county auditor's office pay $76,845 to the project contractor, the W.M. Brode Co. of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
The auditor's office has not issued that payment because it requires the approval of the county commissioners, and it was not submitted to them, said George Gordon, the county's chief deputy auditor.
That check would place the project cost at $631,173, exceeding the original contract's cost of $608,102, Mr. Gordon said.
“Any time you have a change order that increases the cost of the contract, you have to have the approval of the commissioners,” he said. “There is no change order that has been issued for this contract.”
Last week, the commissioners asked the prosecutor's office what they should do.
“We want to know if there's something wrong,” Commissioner Mike Fox said.
The commissioners want to find out whether legally they can or should pay the $76,845.
Mr. Foster and his office's accountants are looking over the financial records of the project, said Chris Petrocci, spokesman for the engineer's office.
“At this point, we don't know what the situation is,” he said. “It doesn't look like we're that far over the contract amount, but this is all preliminary.”
Black Covered Bridge, on Corso Road near Ohio 732 north of Oxford, is one of two covered bridges in Butler County. Built in 1869, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Vehicular traffic has been prohibited on the bridge since Ohio 732 was rerouted in 1951. The bridge was closed to pedestrians in 1976.
The county, state and a nonprofit Oxford group called the Save Our Span Covered Bridge Restoration Committee are sharing in the project's cost. Save Our Span has raised about $71,000 for the project.
The cost of the project has been higher than expected because workers discovered more damage than anticipated from carpenter ants and dry rot.
Gerald Collins, chairman of Save Our Span, said the project should be completed by the end of the summer.
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