SALEM – City council Tuesday authorized an environmental consultation agreement.

City Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution authorizing Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey to enter into an agreement with Tetra Tech for wetland consultation services to support development activities at the Salem Industrial Park. The resolution specifies that the agreement is a time and materials contract which is not to exceed a cost of $1,800 and will determine the impact on potential development of wetland areas within the industrial park to determine if it is possible or worthwhile.

Other matters approved included the appointment of Barb Stamp to the board of health.

During his report, Safety Service Director Joe Cappuzzello said that the South Lincoln Avenue Overpass Project had “passed another hurdle” by securing support at the state level from Gov. Mike DeWine.

“We had a presentation down in Columbus with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Ohio Railroad Commission. The governor has agreed to go forward with that project. It still has to go to Washington D.C. with the federal government, though. If they were ready to approve it today, it would be 2030 when that took place, that’s how far out they are on these projects,” said Cappuzzello. “Right now, they’re projecting that out to be about a $27.5 million project, and the local match would be about $500,000, which would be split between [Salem] and the county. This is all still preliminary, nothing in stone, but that’s where we are as of [Monday].”

Cappuzzello also announced that the city had been awarded a $1.9 million grant from ODOT to replace a bridge on Pennsylvania Avenue near the industrial park. He also said, weather permitting, the city would continue picking up leaves bagged in paper bags into the coming winter season.

Council also heard a request from Parks Director Kelli Pastore on behalf of the parks commission for the city to purchase two new Ferris mowers for the department at an estimated total cost of $35,000. Pastore said that the department’s current Wright mowers were experiencing maintenance and manufacturing issues which were unforeseen when they were purchased, and that if one were to break down, the department would be unable to maintain the parks properly.

Pastore also said that with many of the city’s upcoming events for its U.S. 250 Ohio programming being hosted within the parks that there would be higher maintenance requirements than normal, which will exacerbate the mowers’ issues even further. She suggested that the funds for the mowers could be drawn from a fund that is revenue generated in part by the parks department’s events and facilities, like the municipal lodging tax fund. No formal action was taken on the request Tuesday.

During the report of standing committees, Councilman Andrew Null said he would be scheduling a finance committee meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 2, and Councilman Jeff Stockman said he would be scheduling a meeting of the rules and ordinances committee on a yet to be determined date.

The city council will meet next at 7 p.m. on Dec. 2.