The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Projects highlight 2020 in village
A few key projects are planned for 2020 for the village of Wellington.
“One of the big things for us the last couple of years, that we will be wrapping up, is our quiet zones at railroad crossing,” said village manager Steve Dupee. “Last year we entered into a construction agreement with CSX (Transportation). CSX and the village will be implementing changes to make railroad crossing quiet for residents living in those areas.”
Dupee said CSX will add in power-out indicators and a signal bell by the crossings.
“CSX will add in the bells which, as I understand them, are more to help pedestrians and let them know a train is coming,” he said. “It won’t be quite as loud as it is now, and trains themselves do create enough noise on their own, but it’s another thing that is good to do.”
For drivers, Dupee said crossings will also see some changes.
“There will be these channelization strips at Magyar Street and Barker Street,” he said. “They’re these tall, plastic dividers. For the crossing at West Herrick Avenue, there will be a concrete median installed that will prevent drivers from going out for oncoming trains.”
Dupee said part of the projects will be to add signage for pedestrians.
“The signage will be another thing to add to let pedestrians know that they need to be cautious when crossing the tracks,” he said. “I do worry about the pedestrian with headphones on. We want to make sure this stuff is in place to make them aware. “
Dupee said the village is also looking forward to its new police station.
“We purchased a building at the end of 2018 on (147) East Herrick Street to allow the police department to move out of Town Hall,” he said. “We will get started on getting the 5,000-square-foot building ready, and with the concept plans, we will be adding an additional 3,600 square feet to the building.”
Dupee said the first floor of the new station will be dedicated to holding prisoners.
“The first floor will be a jail and detaining area,” he said. “There will be sally ports for the detaining area. The second floor above the detainment/jail area will not be used immediately but will be designated for future use.
“The new facility will allow the police department to hold prisoners for 12 hours before transporting them to Lorain County Jail,” he added. “This will increase the time from the current six-hour period the department can currently hold them. So, it will give them more time before they have to make the transfer. This is included with all the other locations that will be designated for equipment storage, offices and other areas that the department wants to use.”
Dupee said the village is also going to have a waterline project wrapped up in 2020.
“There will be work on a waterline from West Herrick from Kelly Street and Middle Street,” he said. “Basically, we are abandoning the line that is located under the road and we are going to put it under the curb. That project will probably start sometime in April.”
Dupee said there will also be changes for the village’s water pumps.
“We will have three raw water pumps that will be used in the village,” he said. “The change is that the pumps will be more eco-friendly with the energy that is used.”
Dupee said the village’s passive park is still in the design phase.
“We do have plans of including $25,000 in design and further architectural conceptualizing,” he said, talking about the park that will be in the area that is surrounded by the block of South Main Street, Carpenter Street, Courtland Street and Dickson Street. Basically, we are still in the design phase for the project.”
Dupee said the village is also looking forward to its new police station.