Council approves grant contracts

REDKEY — Contracts for a new planning project and the design of a new sidewalk to the town park were approved at Thursday night’s council meeting.

Town council also OK’d a pair of change orders for work on the town’s wastewater infrastructure and heard comments from a local resident about his support for the town police force.

Ami Huffman, Jay County’s director of community development, presented a pair of contracts for projects funded by state grant money.

One contract approved by council will cover the creation of a new downtown plan for the town by Remenschneider Associates of Indianapolis, with a total price tag of $30,000. Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs will fund $26,500 of the planning, and Redkey will pitch in $3,500 at a later date.

Huffman explained that the new plan will help local business target goods and services that residents may currently have to purchase outside the town, but also will open up the potential for future grants.

“Having a comprehensive plan will make the town eligible for other OCRA grants,” Huffman said. “We should be in great shape moving forward, using what funds we do have and leveraging them for receiving additional funds in the future.”

Huffman also said a detailed development plan can help recruit and attract new businesses to the town.

The other approved contract is for the installation of a new sidewalk on the south side of High Street and east side of Mooney Street to Redkey Morgan Park, with 80 percent of the funding from Indiana Department of Transportation. Council approved the first phase of the project, covering preliminary engineering and final construction. INDOT will pay $31,900 and Redkey will contribute $2,700. Huffman said INDOT is implementing the project in a series of phases, and the town will approve additional phases in the future.

Sri Venugopalan of Fleis & Vandenbrink Engineering also updated council on the ongoing work to separate the town’s sewer system and improve the wastewater treatment plant. Work on the collection system in town is completed, aside from ongoing sodding and seeding of yards that were damaged during construction. 

Venugopalan also presented a pair of change orders for work. One shifted a series of projects to repave streets, which has been delayed in hopes of receiving INDOT Community Crossing grant money, and shifting the money into adding additional liners for the city’s sewer lines, reducing root infiltration and helping to preserve the existing wastewater infrastructure. Council approved the change order, which saves the town $11.

The second order for $13,000 will cover a litany of additional improvements at the wastewater treatment plant that have been discussed with utility head Randy Young. Venugopalan added that a previous change order saved the town $91,000, so the new order still results in $73,000 in savings for Redkey.

He also discussed a work change directive to put $198,000 into additional lining for the sewer system. By giving the directive to contractors at the same time as the aforementioned $11 change order, the town will be able to add liners throughout the town’s wastewater system by bundling the projects into one request from contractors, preventing piecemeal improvements and saving Redkey money on the liner installation.

Council also heard comment from a community member regarding its decision at July’s meeting to prevent town police officers from taking their vehicles home. Steve Massey thanked the town’s police for all the work they do the combat crime in Redkey, and cautioned council to avoid losing officers to other police departments.

“We should really retain officers that are dedicated to doing their jobs,” Massey said. “I hate to see someone who’s making a difference in the community leave over something that could be prevented.” 

Council president Doug Stanley echoed Massey’s support for the town’s police, and said that he hopes to retain officers but that budgetary constraints cause many small towns to be less competitive in retaining officers as compared to larger departments.

In other business: 

•Voted to hire a new town employee to work in the utilities department.

•Heard from Young that a new tornado siren should arrive and be installed in the next six to eight weeks.

•Approved an annual compliance form for a previously awarded tax abatement to Fisher Meats. The company promised to invest $1.06 million in equipment and create nine jobs, and has currently invested $1.05 million and created 34 jobs at its facility in Redkey.

•Heard from resident Donna Dudelston about safety concerns regarding a tree on her neighbor’s property that was damaged during work on the city’s sewer system. Stanley said he and Venugopalan will look at the tree during their walk-through of the work on Monday.

•Approved a $3,081 contract with TJ’s Concrete to replace a sidewalk that causes pooling water outside Redkey Town Hall.

•Purchased a $650 grader box after a previous $400 box had to be returned.

•Rejected three sewer rate adjustment requests. Council will present a new water use ordinance at its next meeting, which will include new stipulations for sewer rate adjustment requests.

•Approved contractor claims of $84,901.50 for Brackney, $373,065 for Crosby and $41,872.74 for Fleis & Vandenbrink. Also approved non-contractor claims of $699,835.89.