Postponed Bid Review TODAY
Sep/090
Hi all,
The following is a message from Keith Spoelker, Bellevue City Administrator, letting us know that the date for opening sealed work bids was pushed back to today:
“At the prebid meeting, the potential vendors asked a bunch a questions and asked for clarifications on a few items. To give them time to work on the clarifications and addendum, we decided to give them 2 more days to complete the bid (having the opening the day after a major holiday didn’t help either). The bid opening is now Thursday.”
I hope to be in touch with Keith later this afternoon to find out the number and nature of bids received. Let’s hope that the city decides to accept a bid and press forward on repairing Covert Run Pike.
Check back for updates!
Covert Run Pike Repairs – Bidding Opens Tomorrow!
Aug/090
Hi all,
Just a reminder that city officials will begin to accept bids tomorrow for the proposed street repairs. Sealed bids will be opened on September 8th, and (hopefully) an acceptable bid will be announced along with a timeline for the project thereafter. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, and check in regularly to make sure the city and SD1 are doing everything they can to keep the process moving!
Looking forward!
Updates!
Jul/091
Hello Covert Run Pike!
July was an extremely busy month for us. As many of you know, Bellevue City Council hosted a meeting on July 7th at the Callahan Center. Keith Spoelker, Bellevue’s City Administrator, presided over the meeting, as city engineers and representatives from Sanitation District No. 1 presented their proposed plans for fixing our street. Here are some key points from the meeting:
- A budget of $1,041,870 has been approved for the project. (Funds were collected from the City of Bellevue, the State of Kentucky, and the Sanitation District.)
- The allocated funds will pay for a new stormwater sewer that will run down the middle of Covert Run Pike, across Taylor, dumping out into the westernmost portion of Taylor Creek. Said funds will also be used to construct a new street and adjacent sidewalks.
- On 8/20/09, the city will begin to accept bids from area contractors. The bidding period will be open for 21 days. At the end of this time period (projected date: 9/8/09), Council will review the bids and (hopefully) select a team of workers to begin the project. In the unfortunate event that no satisfactory bid is received in that time period, a new bidding period will commence and last for an additional 21 days.
- Once the project details are solidified and work has begun, Council estimates the repairs to take anywhere from nine months to one year to complete. During this time, segments of the street/sidewalks will be unavailable for both foot traffic and parking. Residents are advised to be patient as repairs are completed, and council has tentatively offered assistance in finding alternative parking and accessibility solutions.
- Members of the Sanitation District are prepared to meet individually with residents whose lateral connections require special attention. They remain unsure as to whether outdated/damaged connections will result in fees for each homeowner, but they assured us that the issue will in no way impede the progress of the street repairs.
- A private company, Filterra, has been commissioned to transform our revamped sewage drains into usable green space containing live trees. Details of this experimental project are still being discussed by all parties involved.
- Council, while acknowledging that the creek is still a major souce of the flooding, is unprepared to field questions in that regard. Deepening/widening the creek or installing a retaining wall would reportedly cost upwards of $4 million, and while Council acknowledges that the creek still poses a viable threat, they have expressed their desire to make the street repairs their first priority. The creek is an issue upon which we, as citizens, must remain vigilant as we move forward.
Neighbors, this has been a long, uphill battle that is far from over. This unseasonably rainy summer continues to make it all too clear that we can no longer wait for the City to reach a conclusion. Despite the fact that Council has made unprecented progress in resolving the flooding, a thousand questions still remain. When will the repairs start? How will winter affect the construction progress? Will our property value increase once the job is done? Will our street still flood? I urge you to press your City Council for more details. Email Keith Spoelker at keith.spoelker@bellevueky.org, or call Public Works at (859) 261-0260. State and federal representatives have stated that since our street is owned by the City, they can’t intervene. It is up to us to make sure that the flooding on Covert Run Pike is at the forefront of the agendas of our paid and elected city officials.
Keep looking forward!
Important Info for Residents Affected by Flooding
Jul/090
Hello Covert Run,
This information was helpfully provided by Covert Run resident Gina Wolfe. If you have suffered lost or damaged property due to the flooding on Covert Run Pike, you may be able to find help by contacting these philanthropic organizations:
- United Way of Greater Cincinnati – Go online to search UWGC’s database of local relief organizations, or simply dial 211 on your phone to reach a representative who can provide local contact information.
- American Red Cross, Cincinnati – The Red Cross provides disaster relief to victims at every level; they canvassed Covert Run Pike in 2003 to distribute cleaning supplies and offer help replacing necessary appliances and furniture such as washers, dryers, and beds. For more information, visit their Web site or call (513) 579-3000.
Thanks, Gina!
Questions for July 7th Public Meeting
Jul/090
Hello Covert Run Pike!
I am extremely excited about the meeting this coming Tuesday. In preparation, I’ve been trying to come up with a thorough list of questions that I’d like to ask. Here’s what I have so far:
- How can we be sure that these repairs will eliminate the flooding on our street?
- After the repairs, how long will our street need to be flood-free before it can be rezoned?
- When can we expect the repairs to start?
- How long will the entire project take to be completed?
- What is each party’s role in seeing that construction proceeds according to schedule?
- How will residents’ lateral connections be handled?
- Will the entire street be closed for any portion of time? Will it be completed in sections, and if so, in what order will the street be sectioned off?
- Will we have access to our driveways and/or sidewalks during contruction?
- Will we have the city’s help in securing parking elsewhere if necessary?
- What types of machinery will be required for the project? Noise/congestion levels?
- Will the street be closed to uphill Fort Thomas traffic during construction?
- Will the creek still pose a flooding threat after the storm sewers are replaced?
- What happens if the project goes over budget?
- Under what conditions could construction be halted/postponed?
Don’t hesitate to add to or take away from this list as you formulate your own questions. We’ll definitely want to make sure that ALL of our concerns have been adequately addressed before leaving the meeting. If you have questions but can’t make it to the meeting, feel free to post them on this thread and we’ll see to it that they are answered.
See you Tuesday at 6:30 at the Callahan Center!
Public Meeting July 7th
Jun/090
Hello Covert Run Pike residents!
As many of you are aware, Bellevue City Administrator Keith Spoelker delivered an announcement this afternoon stating that funds have been secured for the Covert Run stormwater/sewage drainage project, and the city has begun working with its engineers as well as representatives from Sanitation District #1 in establishing project details.
This news comes as a great relief to those of us who have anxiously awaited repairs to the street, but it by no means indicates that the flooding problems will be immediately resolved. City council has not yet begun to accept bids from private contractors for completion of the work, and neither have they established an affirmative timeline for the work’s completion.
Street residents have heard similar promises of repairs; let’s make sure this inititative doesn’t fizzle like prior efforts have. Join us at the Callahan Center (616 Poplar Street; view map here) at 6:30 pm on July 7, 2009. Come prepared with your questions for the City Engineer, city council members, and representatives of SD1 who will also be present. Let’s do our best to make this the last meeting of its kind — show your support to stop the flooding on Covert Run Pike!
Till then, take care and keep dry!
WLWT Channel 5 news story
Jun/090
The flooding on Covert Run Pike has been covered extensively in local news. Here is a broadcast of the most recent coverage done by Channel 5 on Tuesday June 16, 2009. Several Covert Run Pike residents are featured in the segment, including Jamie Wilk, who lives at 318 and lost 80% of her possessions when her home was ravaged by floodwaters during the June 14th incident.
The High Cost of Living on Covert Run Pike
Jun/091
This site was created by residents of Covert Run Pike in an effort to raise awareness and to gain support from our friends and neighbors in fixing the flooding problems that have plagued our neighborhood for more than 60 years.
Here you will find photographs, documentation, and personal testimony detailing the losses sustained by Covert Run Pike residents, as well as evidence of our efforts to communicate with Bellevue City Council and other government entities on the matter.