July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Street going one-way (3/8/05)
Council approves change for Massassachusetts Avenue
By By Rachelle Haughn-
An ordinance will soon be drawn to change a section of Massachusetts Avenue from a two-way street to a one-way north street.
The Portland City Council unanimously voted Monday evening to have city attorney Bill Hinkle create the ordinance making the street one way from Boundary Pike to Seventh Street. The council will vote on it following a first reading at the next meeting, which is Monday, March 21, at 7 p.m.
Boundary Pike resident Debi Gillespie asked the council at the Feb. 7 meeting to consider changing Massachusetts Avenue from a two-way street to a one-way north street so she would not lose so much land to the Boundary Pike/Wayne Street project.
Plans for the project called for widening the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Boundary Pike, which would cause Gillespie to lose 6,000 square feet of her property. Boundary Pike and Massachusetts Avenue currently intersect at about a 25-degree angle. Making the street one-way north eliminates the need for expanding the angle.
Portland police conducted a 48-hour traffic study of Massachusetts Avenue in February. The results were presented to council members at the Feb. 21 meeting. The study found that more people drive north than south on the street.
In other business, the council approved one tax abatement request and sent two others to the Portland Tax Abatement Advisory Committee for approval.
A five-year abatement request from Qualtech Tool & Engineering, 103 Performance Drive, was approved by the council. The company wants to purchase a new machine at a cost of $89,500. The machine, which is similar to a vertical mill, would not create any additional jobs, Jay County Development Corporation executive director Robert Quadrozzi said.
Before the council voted, Quadrozzi said the advisory committee discussed the matter by phone and unanimously decided the abatement request should be approved. He said this request was supposed to be sent to the council with another one, which the council approved in December. The machines did not come in at the same time, so the two requests could not be submitted together, he said.
Two five-year abatement requests by Stoneridge Inc., the parent company of Alphabet Inc.-Portland Division, were sent to the advisory committee by the council.
Alphabet, 700 Industrial Drive, Portland, plans to install four new dock plates at the shipping dock at a cost of $23,804 and three wash fountains at a cost of $16,210. The improvements to the building would not create any additional jobs, Quadrozzi said.
A tax abatement allows companies to pay taxes in increasing increments over several years, instead of paying the full amount each year.
Also Monday, council members:
•Heard street and park department superintendent Jeff Harker report the city was given a permit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to create a compost site where the street department is currently depositing collected limbs. This area is located on the west side of North Morton Street behind Doane Pet Care.
Harker said leaves collected this past fall, green brush and grass clippings will be used to create the compost, which will be free to whoever wants it, he said. Debris collected following the ice storm will not be used.
•Heard Harker announce the first city clean-up week of the year will be Monday, April 4 to Friday, April 8. All large items will be collected. Refrigerators and air conditioners that have not had the Freon removed and tires will not be picked up.
•Approved a resolution declaring the Weiler Building a slum and blight in Portland.
The building had to be named as such so the city can apply for a $500,000 Indiana Department of Commerce grant under the category of addressing blight, which is a public health and safety issue.
Jay County community developer Wayne Bailey said the grant money would be used to rehabilitate the building, which includes repairing the roof and replacing most of the windows.
The council also approved a resolution authorizing Portland Mayor Bruce Hosier to submit the grant application for the city and sign necessary documents.
The resolution also includes a commitment by the John Jay Center for Learning to pay $553,572 in matching grant funds.
The Weiler Building, located at the corner of Main and Meridian streets, is set to be the new home of the JJCL. The rehabilitation of the building has been estimated to cost $1.053 million.[[In-content Ad]]
The Portland City Council unanimously voted Monday evening to have city attorney Bill Hinkle create the ordinance making the street one way from Boundary Pike to Seventh Street. The council will vote on it following a first reading at the next meeting, which is Monday, March 21, at 7 p.m.
Boundary Pike resident Debi Gillespie asked the council at the Feb. 7 meeting to consider changing Massachusetts Avenue from a two-way street to a one-way north street so she would not lose so much land to the Boundary Pike/Wayne Street project.
Plans for the project called for widening the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Boundary Pike, which would cause Gillespie to lose 6,000 square feet of her property. Boundary Pike and Massachusetts Avenue currently intersect at about a 25-degree angle. Making the street one-way north eliminates the need for expanding the angle.
Portland police conducted a 48-hour traffic study of Massachusetts Avenue in February. The results were presented to council members at the Feb. 21 meeting. The study found that more people drive north than south on the street.
In other business, the council approved one tax abatement request and sent two others to the Portland Tax Abatement Advisory Committee for approval.
A five-year abatement request from Qualtech Tool & Engineering, 103 Performance Drive, was approved by the council. The company wants to purchase a new machine at a cost of $89,500. The machine, which is similar to a vertical mill, would not create any additional jobs, Jay County Development Corporation executive director Robert Quadrozzi said.
Before the council voted, Quadrozzi said the advisory committee discussed the matter by phone and unanimously decided the abatement request should be approved. He said this request was supposed to be sent to the council with another one, which the council approved in December. The machines did not come in at the same time, so the two requests could not be submitted together, he said.
Two five-year abatement requests by Stoneridge Inc., the parent company of Alphabet Inc.-Portland Division, were sent to the advisory committee by the council.
Alphabet, 700 Industrial Drive, Portland, plans to install four new dock plates at the shipping dock at a cost of $23,804 and three wash fountains at a cost of $16,210. The improvements to the building would not create any additional jobs, Quadrozzi said.
A tax abatement allows companies to pay taxes in increasing increments over several years, instead of paying the full amount each year.
Also Monday, council members:
•Heard street and park department superintendent Jeff Harker report the city was given a permit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to create a compost site where the street department is currently depositing collected limbs. This area is located on the west side of North Morton Street behind Doane Pet Care.
Harker said leaves collected this past fall, green brush and grass clippings will be used to create the compost, which will be free to whoever wants it, he said. Debris collected following the ice storm will not be used.
•Heard Harker announce the first city clean-up week of the year will be Monday, April 4 to Friday, April 8. All large items will be collected. Refrigerators and air conditioners that have not had the Freon removed and tires will not be picked up.
•Approved a resolution declaring the Weiler Building a slum and blight in Portland.
The building had to be named as such so the city can apply for a $500,000 Indiana Department of Commerce grant under the category of addressing blight, which is a public health and safety issue.
Jay County community developer Wayne Bailey said the grant money would be used to rehabilitate the building, which includes repairing the roof and replacing most of the windows.
The council also approved a resolution authorizing Portland Mayor Bruce Hosier to submit the grant application for the city and sign necessary documents.
The resolution also includes a commitment by the John Jay Center for Learning to pay $553,572 in matching grant funds.
The Weiler Building, located at the corner of Main and Meridian streets, is set to be the new home of the JJCL. The rehabilitation of the building has been estimated to cost $1.053 million.[[In-content Ad]]
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