BELLAIRE, Ohio – New asphalt is expected to be in place this week on Bellaire’s pickleball courts after a Pennsylvania contractor mistakenly built them at the wrong elevation, according to Village of Bellaire Council President Janet Richardson.
Richardson says contractor T.A. Robinson Asphalt Paving Inc. of Pittsburgh failed to follow the specified elevation in the civil engineering design from Chadan Engineering of St. Clairsville, making it necessary to tear up the asphalt on the courts and replace it to correct specifications.
The asphalt was laid in September, but village officials discovered the courts sat lower than the storm drains installed by another contractor, Richardson explained. She said there is no issue with the design concerning the floodplain and that the Village of Bellaire obtained all required permits from the State of Ohio.
“It has nothing to do with the floodplain,” Richardson said.
Richardson acknowledged that the site is within a 100-year floodplain but said the village received approval to build the planned facilities there.
“We have our floodplain permit. We passed our NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] study all the way up to the Department of the Interior.”
She said the elevation problem involved the asphalt contractor not following specifications on the civil engineering drawings, not a floodplain violation.
She said T.A. Robinson Asphalt Paving Inc. acknowledged responsibility and began correcting the error by removing the original asphalt, adding fill and preparing to relay the pavement.
“They’ve already started. They came yesterday [Monday] and picked up all of the asphalt that they had originally laid,” Robinson said.
Richardson expects the new asphalt work to be completed by Friday, Oct. 16.
Richardson explained that the additional fill dirt needed to raise the pickleball courts to the proper elevation was omitted from the original project budget. Richardson said the additional expense, which is approximately $50,000, will be paid from the project’s Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grant funds.
“We’re not paying for the fill because of their mistake. We’re paying for the fill because it should have been a consideration in the original budget, but it wasn’t.”
Richardson said the original contract cost for installing the pickleball court was $146,835. She confirmed that contractor T.A. Robinson of Pittsburgh has not received any payment to date. The contractor will receive its contract payment after the work is completed and approved by the engineer.
Richardson said the asphalt error will postpone the pickleball court project by about 30 days since the work needs to be done in warmer weather to allow the material to cure.
The pickleball courts are part of the Village of Bellaire Recreation and Entertainment Complex, which is being built on the 26th Street ballfields near Ohio Route 149 and Belmont Street. Richardson said the village received a $1.498 million federal Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grant for the project which will include eight pickleball courts, a performance stage, a concession stand, restrooms and a walking trail.
The village selected Classical Construction LLC of Ohio to build the performance stage and concession/restroom facilities.
Richardson said the village submitted another AMLER grant application to expand the recreation complex with four basketball courts and hopes to learn by the end of October if they will be awarded those additional funds.
Richardson added that the village recently launched a program called Operation Flush after a fire several months ago raised concerns about a hydrant that reportedly did not function properly. The program covers all 279 fire hydrants in Bellaire which crews will flush, pressure test and paint. Richardson said crews have worked on 50 hydrants so far.
Richardson said the village previously lacked a comprehensive documented hydrant inventory and maintenance history.
“There’s never been any documentation that lists our hydrants and or any type of maintenance that’s been done.”
The village hopes to finish the remaining hydrants before the end of 2026.
Richardson said a completed inventory will help officials determine which hydrants require repairs or replacement.
“Hydrants are running between $6,000 and $8,000 a piece for replacement.”
She said the village hopes to pursue grant funding to replace hydrants that cannot be adequately repaired.
Richardson also said that the village is gearing up to begin street paving work in October.
“We should see paving of, I believe, at least 13 streets starting at the end of the month.”
