What's Happening In Marietta This Week

MARIETTA, OH — There is a lot going on around Marietta this week. Mayor Josh Schlicher sat down to go over the state of the city with Patch. He says there are a lot of people in the city doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work right now. Schlicher says city crews are staying busy. We can expect renovations to continue on the aquatic center.

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He says drivers can expect to see crews out working on fiber-optic upgrades to the city's traffic system. These upgrades are going to continue through June for much of the city, and until later on in the year for other parts. The upgrades will allow for a smarter flow of traffic which aims to cut down on stop-and-go traffic which will cut down on accidents.

He says they're getting ready to seal up a lot of cracks in Marietta roads. Schlicher says they're going to fire up the city's crack sealing machine and run it for as long as they can. They can't run it all summer because when it gets too hot out the crack sealant can't fully harden. "Our goal is to get 50,000 pounds of sealer on city streets this year." He says in the past when they even did it they put about 5,000 pounds of sealer down. "Last year we pushed it up to 25,000 pounds, and we're going to double that this year hopefully." They plan on starting with Greene Street, Pike Street, Fort Harmar Drive, Muskingum Drive, part of Route 7 North. He says long term this will keep the cost of road repairs down.

He says they're looking at every single park that the city owns to see where they can make improvements. "Some require some paintings, some require extensive renovations." He says they want to work to get the city parks back to where they used to be. "Then maintain that standard. Keep everything maintained, inviting, and a new image for Marietta." He says they're going to work to finish the park behind the armory they started last year.

Folks can expect to see crews removing weeds down by the levee. There will be chemical weed removal, but it will be done safely by a professional with credentials. "Nothing will be done against EPA regulations for pesticides." There will be a lot of landscaping going on around town. "All the cemeteries are getting a lot of work." Mayor Schlicher says they're really working hard to get the cemetery work, and aquatic center renovations done by Memorial Day.

Schlicher says the city is taking control of new fleet vehicles as part of a project they started last year. The city leased a couple dozen work vehicles so they could cut down on maintenance costs associated with having to keep aging vehicles in commission. "We're going to save probably about $150,000 a year, taxpayer dollars. And the city is going to be able to drive newer vehicles, safer vehicles."

There is going to be work done on the water storage facility out on State Route 26 "The Norwood tank, it's going to get pressure washed and sandblasted in preparation for a new coating." This water tank is going to get a new coating on the inside and outside. Schlicher says this is the last of the city's elevated water tanks to get the necessary coating. "Those have a 20-25 year life cycle. So we're in good shape after we get this tank done."

Schlicher is in talks to have the old Jackson Pool converted into a firefighter training facility. He says the old pool has just been a storage facility for the city and they're working on getting all the old outdated equipment out of there. The plan is to have a giant yard sale for the equipment on govdeals.com. Because it's city property it has to be auctioned off. He says when the training facility is built, we might be able to use it to help train neighboring fire departments.

He says they're getting going on a lot of projects that have been on the backburner for too long. Folks are jumping in to help too. "We're getting a lot of volunteer groups coming here wanting to help." He says this is creating a domino effect for folks wanting to donate time or money. Anyone interested in donating either can do so by getting ahold of the mayor at his office in City Hall, his number is 740-373-1987.

Finally Mayor Schlicher says they're still working on the river trail slip. He says it's shut down for now, and there likely won't be any work done on it for the year. "We continue to ask people to stay out of the area, do not cross through the construction zone there." He says they've got it marked and closed off, but still, people try to cross it. He asks folks to help him by not crossing the trail there, he doesn't want to have to enforce it, but will if he has to.

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