Projects set for Redkey (06/20/08)

REDKEY - Preparing for future projects - including the town's water infrastructure and a highway reconstruction - were major topics of discussion at Thursday night's town council meeting.

Council president Doug Stanley said a preconstruction meeting was held earlier in the week concerning a Ind. 1 water main relocation project which is scheduled to get underway by the end of this month.

This project will involve the relocation of 6,800 feet of 8-inch water lines along Ind. 1 between Wayne Avenue and Boyce Street in preparation for highway resurfacing and sidewalk improvements in that area by the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Stanley said the preconstruction meeting involved town officials and representatives from the Indiana Department of Transportation, engineers with the town's consulting firm of Commonwealth Engineers Inc., Indianapolis, and Watson Excavating Inc., Redkey, which submitted the low bid of just under $669,000 to do the work.

The project's scheduled completion date is January, 2009.

Also Stanley reported that Commonwealth is continuing to work on pre-design drawings for the water system improvement project which will include water plant upgrades and a new water tower.

Redkey recently was awarded a $500,000 Community Focus Fund grant through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs for the project. Stanley said that design work is continuing on this project, and no definite timetable has been established yet. Stanley said he anticipates bids being taken for this work in late fall.

The state's CFF grant will be combined with a $220,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, already earmarked for Redkey, and USDA loans totaling approximately $1.2 million to fund the total project -estimated to cost more than $1.9 million overall.

Stanley said the project will involve replacing the town's present water tower near the fire station with a new one which will be located in the vicinity of Morgan Park. The new reservoir tank will feature a clam-shell design, standing on four supports, similar to the city of Dunkirk water tower-reservoir tank, the council president said.

Stanley added that the exact height of the tank as well as a color and logo for it have yet to be determined.

Also he noted that the water treatment plant improvements will be incorporated into a prefabricated addition to the present facility.

In other business at Thursday night's meeting, Stanley announced some council assignment changes. Due to health reasons, council member Phil Philebaum, currently recovering from back surgery, will be taking over supervision of the police department while Stanley and council member Terri Taylor concentrate on the town utility departments while this construction work is proceeding. Stanley will oversee the wastewater treatment department, while Taylor will be in charge of the water department with assistance from Stanley.

In other business at Thursday night's meeting, council members:

•Heard a report from Jay County Development Corporation executive director Bill Bradley about changes in the county's Economic Development Income Tax procedures.

Bradley explained that previously Redkey's EDIT funds were kept by the county in an account with the Jay County auditor, but under the new guidelines, the county recently turned over $131,645 in EDIT funds which it had been saving to the Redkey clerk-treasurer's office. However, Bradley cautioned that this will be a one-time windfall, as in the future Redkey will probably be receiving approximately $35,000 to $40,000 per year in EDIT funds.

Bradley reminded town officials that the purpose of EDIT funds is to encourage economic development; he encouraged council members to maintain a close working relationship with the Redkey Economic Development Corporation concerning the use of the funds.

Redkey Fire Chief Randy Young serves as chairman of the REDC, Bradley said, adding that it was his recommendation that the town council members and REDC work closely together to promote economic development for the community.

•Learned that the annual Independence holiday fireworks display, presented by the Redkey Volunteer Fire Department, has been rescheduled to Saturday, July 5, to correspond with the Redkey Junior League's plans to hold baseball and softball games on Friday and Saturday, July 4 and 5.

Young said the fireworks display will start at dusk on July 5 after the games have concluded at Morgan Park.

He said donations are still needed to help pay for the fireworks. He said there is a special fireworks contributions account set up at the Redkey branch of MainSource Bank, 422 N. Union St.

•Approved a listing of water and wastewater department rules and regulations which will be made available to members of the public. This information will deal with utility bill payment requirements, late fees, bad check charges, reconnection fees, and tap-in fees.

During discussion on this matter, town employees and council members noted that some of the charges were not sufficient to cover the town's expenses. The tap-in fee represented one example of this, and council members said they wanted to change the wording in this ordinance from a specific amount to a figure equivalent to the actual cost of making each individual tap-in.

•Noted that the BestWay Disposal contract for trash collection had increased, and the rate being charged on water bills for this service should be increased accordingly. This matter was tabled for further discussion at next month's council session.

•Heard a request from Redkey resident Jacob Omstead to hold a youth band concert in Morgan Park sometime this summer. Stanley asked that he work with members of the park board to develop the proposal further.



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