St. Bernard mayor: Vine Street needs major repair; administration to seek bids and hold public hearings

Mayor Stel told St. Bernard Village Council that the village will move forward with bidding to repair and repave a heavily deteriorated section of Vine Street and add traffic-calming measures.

The mayor said engineering firm JMA Consultants will put the project out to bid and summarized approximate costs presented to council: an overall project estimate of about $990,000, grant funding of $284,800 and, as stated in the meeting, a local funds request (reported during discussion as $75,400). He said the work would include rebuilding compromised roadbeds, repaving and striping crosswalks and installing speed cushions in targeted areas.

Council members pressed timing and logistics. Members and staff said that school traffic at St. Clement and the Norwood lateral closure complicate summer construction windows; several members said the work cannot be done while school is in session. Mayor Stel said if the project is delayed it will intersect with other larger projects (I‑75 work) and likely be more difficult.

The mayor proposed two public hearings on Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding related to the project, tentatively scheduled for April 11 and April 25; he noted the village must advertise hearings in the newspaper. Council did not take a final funding vote tonight; members said the finance committee will meet to review details before any appropriation is finalized.

On finances, the figures reported at the meeting do not sum arithmetically as presented: the mayor repeatedly cited the $990,000 total estimate, $284,800 in grant funding and a local contribution figure reported in-session as $75,400. Council did not resolve that discrepancy during the discussion; a council member said the village would be seeking other funding options and stackable grants where possible.

Next steps: JMA Consultants will go to bid on the project and staff will return to council with bid results and specific appropriation requests; two public hearings on CDBG funds were proposed for mid- and late-April.