Westlake City Council has approved hiring a firm to design plans for a renovation of the Columbia Road interchange.

The city will hire Hatch Mott MacDonald LLC for the design project.

Ward 1 councilman Edward Hack voiced his objections to the hiring at last week's council meeting at City Hall.

"My concern is that it puts time, effort and moneys into an intersection where there aren't major problems," Hack said, adding Crocker Road needs to be addressed.

City engineer Robert Kelly said the city would be spending about $80,000 for the design. The remaining $400,000 would be coming from state safety funds.

Council chair Michael Killeen pointed out that state money can't be diverted from the project it was granted for to something else.

"It's been deemed a high-accident area," he said of the Columbia Road interchange.

In the end, all council members except Hack voted for the hiring.