SIDNEY —The virtual capital tour of improvements in the city of Sidney continued Monday evening during the Sidney City Council workshop session.
Fire Chief Chad Hollinger discussed several updates within the Sidney Department of Fire and Emergency Services.
The roof on Station 1 roof was planned to be replaced, but the quote came back much higher, Hollinger said, than the budgeted amount of $250,000, at $431,000, so that project is on hold, for now.
He next displayed a picture of medic unit 1506, which was purchased two years ago. This vehicle is being replaced by a newly ordered 2022 Horton medic unit that is currently back ordered. The new unit will replace the department’s refurbished 2002 medic unit with 2014 chassis. The purchased medic unit will take about a year before it will be delivered due to supply chain issues, Hollinger said. The cost of the purchase was $258,000.
APS upgrades have also been made at the fire department. This is an enhanced station-notification system. The technology will only awaken the crews to be dispatched instead of everyone at both Station 1 and 2. The next phase is to integrate the system with dispatch. A total of $15,000 is budgeted for this part of the project.
The next project is Life-PAk 15 cardiac monitor and a Lucas Device automatic compression system. With the purchase of this equipment, all four medic units are equipped as Advanced Life Support units. The cost of the project is $54,939.35.
The last fire department project Hollinger introduced was upgrades to the Magne-Grip exhaust capture. Hollinger said two additional bays at Station 1 will now be protected by the exhaust capture system. The cost of the project is $41,204.
Parks and Recreation Director Duane Gaier closed out the tour with a PowerPoint on the improvements at the parks.
Gaier gave an update on a memorial facility in the Aschenbach Grove, the site of Big Rock, at Tawawa Park, called Binkley Pavilion. The structure is named after and in memory of William Binkley, the maternal great-grandfather of former Sidney resident Albert Binkley Dickas, who donated $120,000 for the project.
The project includes an asphalt drive leading up to a parking lot with a 26-foot circular pavilion, a gazebo, a parking lot, drainage the recognition/interactive signage and steel tables. Gaier said $8,000 was also donated from Rueben Aschenbach heirs for the project, which included 21 crab apple trees planted and mulched. This project was also possible made possible by the Community Foundation of Shelby County.
The Wagner Glade/Young’s Cove play equipment at Tawawa Park needs to be replaced this year. He displayed pictures of the old set and what the new set will look like. Each year, one to two structures are replaced, Gaier said.
Pickle ball courts are currently in the design stage. The city is soliciting player input. In early June the project will go out for bids. A total of $75,000 is budgeted for the project.
Installation of the new entrance sign to Tawawa Park is moving forward, Gaier said.
Other consulted projects Gaier shared were:
• Senior Center roof replacement – $205,000 budgeted.
• Urban Trail study – Will cost $25,800. This will connect the Canal Feeder Trail to downtown Sidney and Tawawa Park. Gaier said it is still in the early stages.
• Parks master plan in the works – Will cost $50,000. Would be a 10 month project on the strategies for the next 10 years on the community’s wants and needs.
At the end of the meeting, City Manager Andrew Bowsher shared the following:
• The city’s annual tree sale is ongoing now;
• The neighborhood beautification awards nominations are being sought now until Sept. 2;
• The Sidney Water Park season passes are now on sale. The pool opens on June 4 through Aug. 14.
• Volunteers are needed for the annual county clean sweep of the Great Miami River clean-up event scheduled for Friday, June 15, from 8 a.m. to noon, rain or shine.
• Wished all the mothers out there a Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 8.
