The City of Powell is making its contribution in conjunction with Liberty Township and Delaware County for the completion of the Home Road Pedestrian Pathway project.
During Tuesday’s meeting of Powell City Council, members of council voted to authorize City Manager Andrew White to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Delaware County Board of Commissioners, the Liberty Township Board of Trustees, and the Delaware County Engineer for the multi-use pathway project.
The project includes the construction of approximately 1,700 feet of 10-foot-wide pedestrian pathway extending from the future path constructed with the Liberty Reserve development eastward to the western drive entrance of Olentangy Liberty High School.
Included in the project is a pedestrian crosswalk located at the intersection of Home Road and Northway Circle, crossing Home Road. According to documents for the agreement, the crossing will provide a safe crossing from the Golf Village area south of Home Road to the north side, providing access to locations such as Beautiful Savior Church, Indian Springs Elementary, and Liberty High School. The project will include a pedestrian hybrid-activated crosswalk beacon commonly known as a HAWK signal.
As part of the agreement, the city will reimburse Liberty Township $11,250 or 50%, whichever is less, for the cost of the pedestrian crossing.
“This is an exciting project to move forward on, especially coming out of the cooperative spirit we’ve taken with the township … It’s a significant improvement,” White told council. “We have some real property space there, but it’s just a great opportunity, I think, to move forward and try to bring a safety measure back to that portion of the community and work with Liberty Township.”
White said the funds are available in Fund 241, the city’s parks and recreation fund, as part of its 2022 budget.
In other business on Tuesday, members of council voted to approve an update to the city’s employment agreement with White, who took over for Steve Lutz as city manager on April 1, 2o20.
White began serving as Powell’s city manager at a base pay rate of $130,000, with his salary being increased to $135,000 after completing six months on the job. Effective retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year, White’s salary has now been increased to $150,000.
