Jan. 8: Cleveland Board of Control
Covered by Documenter Ronaldo Rodriguez Jr. (notes)
Two companies will help the city address backlog of tree stump removals
The Cleveland Board of Control’s rapid-fire, six-minute meeting on Jan. 8 included approval of one-year contracts totaling $1.17 million with two companies to help with the backlog of tree and stump removal on public property.
The board awarded two contracts, for a total of $896,835, to VanCuren Services of Newbury Township for stump removal for the Division of Park Maintenance and Properties. Great Lakes Tree Services of Frewsburg, New York, won two other contracts worth a combined $273,450.
Cleveland’s Urban Forestry unit, which operates within the Division of Park Maintenance, is responsible for maintaining trees in the public right of way, such as those on tree lawns.
At a January 2024 meeting of the commission, City Council Member Jenny Spencer said there was a nearly $3 million backlog of complaint-driven work orders for tree maintenance. In the 2024 budget hearings in February, Council Member Charles Slife echoed calls from Spencer to find different ways to fund Urban Forestry. He said the unit has been “chronically underfunded” and suggested it become its own division.
City land near airport sold to developer
The board also approved the transfer of an almost 2.5-acre city-owned site on Old Grayton Road, near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, to developer NASA Park LLC. The developer paid $110,000 for the land, which is adjacent to other parcels it owns as well as to the airport employee parking lot.
Dennis Kramer, assistant director of Cleveland’s Department of Port Control, said the land will be used in continued development plans adjacent to the boutique Orbit Hotel. Those plans call for an event facility, data center and riverwalk. The newly transferred site includes an access road to the recently redeveloped building at 21000 Brookpark Road in neighboring Fairview Park known as The Centaur.
Cleveland company hired for sewer repairs
The board awarded a $5.9 million contract to Perk Company Inc., based in the Central neighborhood, for the repair and replacement of sewer lines across the city for the Division of Water Pollution Control. The division is part of the Department of Public Utilities.
In May 2024, a Public Utilities official told City Council members that Water Pollution Control was “significantly behind” on replacing sewer pipes. Some pipes in the city were installed in the 1870s.
Perk was founded in 1992, according to its web site. It has worked on road, drainage and bridge projects for 40 cities in four counties, the Ohio Department of Transportation, Greater Cleveland RTA and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. Perk’s bid was almost $700,000 less than the next closest, and the company committed to the Office of Equal Opportunity’s goal of awarding at least 30% of subcontracted work to local and female-owned businesses.
