The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/60505
The Press-Dispatch Construction projects top City Council agenda By Mike Johansen The Stellar Communities Grant application, painting the north water tower and the current construction projects were the main top- ics at the Petersburg City Council and Board meetings Monday night at the Peters- burg City Hall. The Petersburg Wa- ter Board met first and re- ceived a report on what needed to be done regard- ing painting and keeping the north side water tower in good shape. The water tower was recently inspect- ed by Midwest Engineering and they had a couple of rec- ommendations. The inspec- tion showed it was mostly in good condition although the outer paint coat is start- ing to peel. There are three coats on the water tower and the engineer recommended some sanding work and re- painting the tower for now, that no major work was probably needed. The inte- rior coat of paint and primer are still in good shape while the outer coat of paint shows signs of peeling and a need for at least the outer coat to be redone. The engineer recommended taking off the outer coat of paint and repainting it. He also said the interior of the tank was in good shape and no work needed at this time. He said they could just repaint, but then they would be back up there in three years or so to do more extensive work. The council asked engi- neer Brian Bullock to get quotes for the work for the Water Board to consider at its next meeting. The work they will probably do now is cleaning and then repaint- ing the outer coat on the tower. Mayor Jon Craig said the Stellar Community Grant would include water de- partment projects primar- ily, mainly on Main Street. Water mains and most like- ly some sewers would be re- placed when Main Street is being remodeled, provided they received the grant (see separate story). The Water Board ap- proved a pay request for Wabash Utilities for work on the water system renew- al project for $65,374.81 and for Reynolds Inc. work on the water plant as part of the renewal project for $80,938.15. All of the funds come from the SRF Loan for the project. The engineer also re- viewed the budget for the water system renew- al project totaling about $1,265,980 in costs for work of the $1,445,000 the city borrowed to cover the costs. With some change orders al- ready processed the costs will be at about $1,305,000 leaving about $140,000- $145,000 in the contingency. Bullock noted they will be submitting a plan for work in the Mulberry and Spruce Street areas totaling about $19,000 on one section and $37,000 on another section for new and renewing ser- vice lines. Work in the Cher- ry Street area would also be included. The Water Board ap- proved the revised plans for work in the Cherry Street area as part of the overall water system improvement project. The Board of Public Works and Safety approved a proposal from Pike Coun- ty Deputy Kent Johnson to eliminate two parking spac- es on walnut Street at the intersection with Ninth Street (Highway 61-56). He said bigger vehicles have been parking there and even when smaller ones are there, the view of the high- way is blocked from drivers on Walnut. He said it is a safety issue and two parking places would be eliminated to improve drivers' views of Ninth Street to eliminate some of the hazards of pull- ing out onto the highway. He said there have been two recent accidents there because views have been blocked, as well as several close calls. The Board of Public Works and Safety approved the change as requested by Deputy Johnson and the In- diana Department of Trans- portation. No parking areas will be marked with yellow paint on the curbs and this will allow drivers a clearer view of the highway before pulling out to cross it or turn onto it. The Board also discussed some pipe work to be done on property at Fourth and Locust to improve drainage in the area of the Potts res- idence. The Potts have pur- chased pipe for the city to use to help improve drain- ing in the area. The city will install it to help the residenc- es in that area. Mayor Craig said he will be appointing two new members to the Board of Public Works and Safety for the next few months to help with the Stellar Grants work. He did not make a for- mal announcement who the two new appointees would be. John Melhiser and Fran Lewis currently serve with the mayor on the board. The Board of Public Works and Safety approved a payment to Wabash Utili- ties for the sewer relocation project along Highway 61 to- taling $32,874.17. The Board also approved the appointment of Kristo- pher Weist as a new mem- ber of the Petersburg Fire Department to fill an open position. The approval be- comes final if approved by the Fire Territory Board. The Stellar Community Grant and work to prepare for final submission of the grant proposal and prepara- tion for the visit of the state committee on April 11. Pe- tersburg will be the fist site visited among the seven se- lected for final consideration for the two grants that could total nearly $20 million in grant funds for the winning projects. Mayor Craig said they will concentrate on the down- town revitalization area and a few other components for the grant application. The city will receive $10,000 to prepare for the final presen- tation of the grant (see sep- arate story for more infor- mation). Because the grant work will be taking up a lot of time over the next two months, the Good Neigh- bor Banquet will be delayed until June or July. Nomina- tions may be submitted at any time, but the banquet will be a couple of months later than past years. The City Council did ap- prove an agreement with the state Stellar Communi- ties Grant group to enter in- to the project preparation phase and to use the $10,000 mini grant for that purpose. There will be a public fo- rum on the Stellar Grant on March 28. The Petersburg Redevel- opment Commission met on Feb. 28 and approved the Main Street TIF District and will now send its request to a meeting of the Planning Commission in March to continue that process. The Mayor said he viewed the American Disability Act video for what cities and towns must do to be com- pliant with the act and to meet a 2013 deadline to have plans in place to become ADA compliant in its build- ings and streets. The video provided information about what the city must do to meet its requirements. Fur- ther information on what the city must do will be forth- coming. The city will have to adopt an ADA Grievance Policy. The city was also able to obtain a new desk, office chairs and tables for about $450 from OFC in Hunting- burg from close-out furni- ture. The costs for the items was much less than actual retail prices. 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