Deal approved for grant work

A $5,000 contract for work on an unsuccessful grant application was approved Thursday by the Portland Board of Works.
Members of the board approved the contract with Schneider Corporation.
Portland Mayor Bruce Hosier approved the work. The board had been scheduled to consider the contract in February, but had several meetings canceled.
The city, which was one of 12 finalists for the Stellar Communities grant through a consortium of state agencies, will be reimbursed $10,000 for expenses in preparing for the grant.
Kristi Sturtz, of Sturtz Public Management Group, was also paid $23,710 for her work on the grant application, with nearly $4,000 of that amount spent to prepare a spiral-bound booklet outlining the city’s grant application.
State officials announced Monday that North Vernon (Jennings County) and Greencastle (Putnam County) were the recipients of a combined $31 million in grant funding.
Forty-two communities submitted proposals for the Stellar Communities pilot program.
Twelve finalists were then selected.
Portland’s project would have leveraged the investment in new sewers in the northwest section of the city and would have provided sidewalks, walking trails, housing rehabilitation, and urban renewal funds.
Board of works members Bill Gibson, Bob McCreery and Hosier voted to approve the Schneider contract.
The board also approved a $138,887.36 payment to Bruns Building, contractor for the Steen Addition sewer separation project on the city’s southeast side. That leaves $408,315.97 still to be paid on the project, which totals $692,725.17 after a change order of $8,162.47 was approved Thursday for additional survey work.
The project includes installation of new sanitary and storm sewers and is designed to alleviate surface water and sewer back-ups in the area.
Streets in the project area will also be resurfaced.
Also approved was an adjustment in the sewer portion of a water bill for Alan Bailey, who owns a home at 423 E. Main Street. A leak occurred between the water meter and the home, causing a larger than normal bill in February.
Under the city’s policies, the sewage bill may be adjusted down to an average of the three previous months under those circumstances.[[In-content Ad]]