Road project list expands

An affordable bid received and accepted by the city of Amherst for a road project has led to adding three additional repaving projects to the list of streets in need of repair next year.

Mayor Mark Costilow said during a July 13 Amherst City Council meeting that the number of roads up for rehabilitation grew to eight from five due to the bid from Precision Paving Inc. of Milan.

West Martin Avenue, Cortland Circle and Brandt Avenue now join Crestline Avenue, West Street, Beverly Drive, Habant Road and Mill Street in the coming project for the city.

In other news

Some city employees still are working from home due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Costilow said.

“It really is limiting our exposure to each other and the public,” he said.

Costilow said the city also plans to enter a memorandum of understanding with the workers’ union in order to revisit worker contracts in September.

Council also passed two resolutions on the first reading concerning the extension of council members and council president terms to be four years instead of two.

The president resolution was approved for further review earlier that evening during a special Ordinance Committee meeting.

“I think the president position is very important in terms of a four-year term as well, so that they have enough time to get to know council members,” councilman at-large David Janik said.

Janik said the president is also integral to be sure that assignments are given to council members and keeping meetings moving smoothly.

“I just think it would be pretty silly if the city council president was the only elected position in the city that was not a four-year term, if the other version of this were to pass,” councilman at-large Phil Van Treuren said.