Dunkirk finds funds for city hall work (03/29/08)

DUNKIRK - City officials have figured out how to pay for needed renovation of city hall.

City council members unanimously approved tapping two funds in the budget and may borrow from a third to pay for repairs.

As a result, replacement of the building's roof is expected to begin next week, possibly as early as Monday.

Three phases of the city hall renovation and remediation work are planned for the city hall in the coming weeks. In addition to the roof repairs, slated to be done first, city officials have voted to award two other contracts: one for an extensive cleanup and some structural changes for the building, and another for new carpeting and tile throughout the structure.

Friday afternoon's special council session was called to establish a funding plan for the projects which were all proposed after the 2008 city budget had already been adopted by the prior city administration.

The 2008 budget was approved last summer, a few weeks before odor and mildew problems in the city building became a matter of concern last fall, forcing the building to eventually be closed to the public with the city clerk-treasurer's office being moved to temporary quarters at 202 S. Main St. and city council meetings relocated to the West Jay Community Center.

Total cost for the three phases of the renovation work at city hall, 131 S. Main St., will be approximately $62,000.

Council members agreed Friday to use money from the city's Cumulative Capital Improvement fund as well as its Rainy Day fund to cover this amount as well as provide an extra $8,000 to cover any potential contingencies. Overall, the total amount of additional appropriations from the two funds will be $70,000 with $50,000 coming from the CCI fund and $20,000 from the Rainy Day fund. Only a small amount of money will be left in each of these funds once the additional appropriations are approved, city clerk-treasurer Jane Kesler said.

Legal requirements call for a public hearing on such additional appropriations, and consequently council members agreed to advertise for a hearing, 10 days in advance of the scheduled date which was set for 7 p.m. April 14 in the West Jay Community Center. This will be just prior to the next regularly scheduled city council meeting.

If council members approve the additional appropriations after the April 14 hearing, the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance will need to certify in writing that there are sufficient funds available to support the request. This process could take another 15 days, Kesler said.

Meanwhile, Fort Wayne Roofing and Sheet Metal, low bidder on the roofing project, said it had the Dunkirk job scheduled to begin on Monday, if the financial details could be worked out.

Mayor Ron Hunt said that since the present roof was already leaking, threatening to do more damage to the interior of the structure, the sooner this project was started the better.

"I hate to put off fixing the roof," councilman Craig Faulkner said, pointing out that heavy rains are always a threat in springtime. Faulkner then proposed a motion to authorize a temporary loan, if needed, from the city's wastewater treatment fund, which has a surplus, to cover the amount of the roofing contract cost. This option will only be used if the roofing contractor needs to be paid before the additional appropriations measure goes into effect, Kesler said.

Also this temporary loan would have to be paid back by the end of the year according to state statutes, the clerk-treasurer pointed out. However, Faulkner said his intention was to have the loan repaid as soon as state officials authorized the additional appropriations from the CCI and Rainy Day funds, and not to wait until year's end.

A previous proposal to use some of Dunkirk's Economic Development Income Tax funds to help with the city hall repairs was dropped after several residents as well as council members agreed that that was really not a proper use of EDIT money.

The entire city hall repair and renovation project is expected to total about $62,000. In addition to Fort Wayne Roofing which submitted a low bid of $18,600, the other contractors will be J. R. Flooring, Montpelier, $13,541, for carpet replacement as well as installation of tile in some areas of the building; and Limberlost Construction of Geneva, $29,875, for extensive cleanup work as well as some structural repairs and alterations. Limberlost is the same firm which is renovating the Weiler Building in downtown Portland for the John Jay Center for Learning.

On another city hall building-related matter, Hunt reported that work was completed this week by owners of the Second Chance Bar and Grill to correct an improper sewer pipe connection which had been contributing to odor problems at city hall.

Hunt said this project was apparently successful in curtailing the strong sewage odor problems which had been evident in the city hall building previously.

Also in other business at Friday's afternoon's meeting, council members agreed to spend $3,450 for an alley and gravel grading attachment for the city's new Caterpillar tractor. Council members approved transferring this amount of money from the street department's fund for temporary help to the street department equipment fund. It will be purchased from MacAllister Machine Co. of Indianapolis which is also selling the tractor to the city.

Purchase of the tractor was approved at a previous city council meeting this month under a three-year, lease purchase agreement. Minus a trade-in allowance for an older city tractor, the cost will be $31,250 with no payments until 2009.[[In-content Ad]]