Bradford City Council opened bids for the 2020 Resurfacing Project: Liquid Fuels and awarded the contract during Tuesday’s meeting.

Councilman Dan Palmer opened and read the two bids received June 9: one from Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. in Turtlepoint for $163,192.55 and the other from IA Construction Corp. in Franklin for $155,897.18. The bids were then given to Public Works Director Chip Comilla and City Solicitor Mark Hollenbeck of Hollenbeck Law Offices, who excused themselves from the meeting to consider the bids. Upon their return, a final resolution was added to the agenda.

Resolution 35749 was to accept the bid of IA Construction. However, the resolution was erroneously read by Mayor James McDonald and classified OECD. Therefore, the resolution was rescinded and Resolution 35749, read by Palmer, classified the bid award as Liquid Fuels. This resolution passed unanimously.

During the new business portion of the meeting, McDonald read a statement outlining the staff restructuring that is planned for the Office of Economic and Community Development, based on the planned retirement of Executive Director Sara Andrews at the end of 2020.

“In anticipation of the retirement of the OECD’s Executive Director by the end of this year, the OECD is restructuring its staffing. The position of the Construction Facilities Manager is being eliminated for a savings of $56,650 in salary. The Executive Director, Deputy Director and other staff are assuming those duties. A new Deputy Director position was temporarily created to hire a qualified professional to work with the Executive Director over the next several months, with anticipation that the deputy director will be promoted to executive director at the time of the current executive director’s retirement.

“Finally, a salary increase was requested for the OECD’s Community Development/Economic Development manager, as she has assumed additional duties over this past year at a high performance level and the new salary is commensurate with the quality of work performed.”

McDonald also noted that no OECD money comes from the city’s general fund.

In other business, a 90-day waiver of the open container law was approved for Players Downtown, allowing the use of outside tables for customers of the business. Councilman Brad Mangel made note of the fact the waiver can be extended if pandemic-related restrictions continue beyond the 90-day mark. However, if those guidelines are lifted, the waiver becomes void. The resolution was unanimously approved.

Also, the council approved payment for two laptops to be mounted in the city’s ambulance, with thanks to Chief Eric Taylor for procuring the majority of the funding for the laptops through the Office of the State Fire Commissioner.

During the visitors’ portion of the meeting, a resident asked about the possibility of creating a neighborhood watch, particularly for the area of High Street, and cited concerns about traffic moving through the area at high speeds while children are playing and people are attempting to cross the street.

McDonald noted that he was considering the possibility of a community watch prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the effort may be a possibility in the future. In the meantime, McDonald suggested that Assistant Chief Mike Ward move the radar sign into the area in an effort to encourage traffic to slow down. The sign is also planned to be set up on Rochester Street in the near future.

Councilman Mangel announced the rescheduling of McKean County’s collection event, held by the Conservation District. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 27, and pre-registration is required. There is a cost for collection of televisions and monitors, and those interested in attending are advised to call the Conservation District at 887-4020 for pandemic guidelines.

Pre-registration can be completed by calling the above number or by visiting www.ecsr.net and clicking on McKean County.