The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Port lines up projects for 2019
Lorain Port Authority used its final 2018 meeting to discuss many issues
Pavilion paint and parking lot sealant are on the to-do list for 2019 capital improvements for the Lorain Port Authority.
The Port board used its final meeting of 2018 to discuss a number of issues, including projects for next year. The Port board also voted to place a one-mill renewal levy on the May 2019 ballot.
The Port board will consider two large-ticket projects for 2019: blacktopping Black River Wharf and repainting the pavilions of Black River Landing.
Black River Wharf is the Lorain Port Authority’s boat ramp of 14th Street east of Broadway.
The job there will not entail tearing out all the pavement and laying a new surface, Brown said. However, the Port needs to seal or repair cracks and cover the asphalt with a new coat of protectant.
“It’s long overdue,” Brown said. “That’s going to be a big one, there’s no two ways around it. It’s a very large lot, as you recall.”
The second major job will be painting the various metal railings and pavilions at Black River Landing, the waterfront festival site that hosts the Lorain International Festival Bazaar, Rockin’ on the River and other summer events.
“A lot of steel,” Brown said “That’s a lot of prep and that’s a lot of epoxy paint. The paint itself is outrageously priced.”
Board member Carl Nielsen said the metalwork has not been painted since it was installed in 2003.
The pavilions have surface rust which is not “horrific” yet, but if the metal is not scrubbed and sealed,
the corrosion will get worse, Brown said.
Both project plans may come together fairly quickly after the start of 2019. Cost estimates were not available yet, but Brown said the pavilion job could amount into the tens of thousands of dollars.
Brown and the board members agreed it would be best to do the work before or after the main months of summer.
The Port completed a number of projects in 2018.
Improvements were not on the scale of a new building or boat ramp.
But the work brings the facilities up to current for maintenance and repairs, instead of falling behind on needed upgrades, Brown said.
“That was a substantial investment in our sites and I
think it shows,” he said.
Much of the work took place at Black River Landing. The festival site received new blacktop treatment on the parking lots and paths, new signage, new gates and stage landscaping.
The Port removed various flower beds that were past their expected lives, including one that was a “weed factory,” Brown said.
The Port changed out lights for LED lights at all sites and buildings. That project included timers.
“The timers were the best investment we’ve ever made, believe me,” because they are automated to change with time zones and times of sunrise and sunset, Brown said. “We don’t touch them. They’re great.”
The new lights are brighter than the old ones
and may be the most visible change, at least at night.
In other business, the Port board voted to place a one mill replacement levy on the May 2019 primary election ballot.
The move was no surprise; the Port board voted on the first needed resolution in October, then approved a revised initial resolution in November.
The Port gets revenues from a one-mill levy voters approved in 2014.
The Port’s levy is estimated to bring in $815,363 for 2019. The levy makes up about 80 percent to 85 percent of the agency’s annual budget, although that figure may be up to 90 percent of the budget, depending on what resources are available, Port Accountant Yvonne Smith said previously.