MOUNT VERNON — On Thursday Floyd Browne Group of Delaware was chosen by the Knox County Commissioners to be the engineering design consultant for the paving of a mile-long section of the Heart of Ohio Trail. It won out of a field of six firms which responded to the Request for Proposal from the Knox County Park District.

KCPD director Kim Marshall said that the project, which will pave the bike trail from Simmons Church Road to Bishop Road, a distance of 0.95 mile, is being supported by two voter-approved sources: A total of $383,500 from the Clean Ohio Trail Fund (administered by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources) and a 25 percent match from the local parks levy passed in 2008. The project involves no county general fund money. Marshall said that the levy passed with pledges to improve existing parks and build new ones, and to pave the Heart of Ohio Trail, which runs from Mount Vernon to Centerburg.

“This is our attempt to make good on our levy campaign promise,” Marshall said.

Marshall said that as the trail is on an existing abandoned railroad bed, the paving process will require minimal engineering. Therefore, while reviewing quotes with the assistance of commissioners’ clerk Rochelle Shackle, weighted the evaluations toward cost, allowing maximum savings. The proposals were awarded up to 80 points based on cost, and up to 20 points based on each firm’s experience with similar projects. Floyd Browne Group came out with the highest score, followed by Lewis Land Professionals of Wadsworth, ADR & Associates of Newark, Watcon Consulting Engineers of Gahanna, Richland Engineering of Mansfield and Jobes Henderson of Newark, in that order.

The engineering costs came in on all proposals at lower rate than predicted by the original grant proposal, which may allow for a little stretching of the distance to be paved, Marshall said. She added that ODNR agreed and approved, without requiring a revision to the original proposal.

Operating as financial agent for the contracting, the board of commissioners agreed with the analysis Marshall presented. Commissioner Allen Stockberger moved to select Floyd Browne Group as the design consultant, and Commissioner Teresa Bemiller seconded it. Commissioner Robert Wise agreed, and the three voted unanimously in approval of the selection.