Board of works approves purchase, change order, hiring

The city will get a new street sweeper.

A change to the scope of upgrades at the wastewater treatment plant led to a cost increase.

And a police officer will be moving to the fire department.

Portland Board of Works approved the purchase of the street sweeper, the changes to the project and the hiring of Luke Darby as a full-time firefighter at its meeting Thursday.

Street and parks department superintendent Matt Shauver presented the proposal to purchase a new street sweeper, noting that the city currently uses a 2013 model. He said it results in a lot of dust and that maintenance costs have been high over the last couple of years.

He shared two quotes, with Hoosier Equipment coming in at a lower overall cost of $212,193.30 after a $40,000 trade in. (Best Equipment had a lower base cost but also a lower trade-in for a total cost of $221,146.)

Shauver also noted that the delivery time faster — about two weeks — from Hoosier Equipment.

Board of works members Jerry Leonhard, Steve McIntosh and Mayor Jeff Westlake unanimously approved the purchase from Hoosier Equipment. They also approved a payment agreement through which the city’s wastewater department will pay for the new street sweeper and the street and parks department will reimburse half of the cost over a four-year period.

Also Thursday, clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips explained to the board that Jutte Excavating, which is constructing an equalization basin at the city’s wastewater treatment plant, recommended a change from the original specifications for the project. The company suggested using concrete instead of aggregate, and engineering firm Jones & Henry approved. The change brought an overall cost increase of $106,950.

The board approved the changes, as well as pay requests of $1.29 million from Jutte and $974,913 from James S. Jackson Company, which is constructing a wet weather pump station. In both cases, 10% of the total is being held back as retainage.

Board members also approved the hiring of Luke Darby as a full-time firefighter, but only after some discussion about the hiring process. Darby currently works as a police officer and part-time firefighter.

McIntosh raised the issue, saying he’d prefer that the board of works have the opportunity to interview job candidates before making a decision. He expressed concern that board members is only presented with a name and resume but that they are ultimately responsible.

Westlake agreed, saying he would at least like to see multiple candidates and that he was frustrated that he was not involved in the process.

Fire Chief Mike Weitzel apologized, noting that the previous two mayors had not made such requests and that he was following what had been standard operating procedure. He said he would make the adjustment moving forward.

Phillips suggested establishing a policy. The board took no action to do so.

Weitzel also said he has talked with Police Chief Dustin Mock, saying they would work together on setting Darby’s start date with the fire department in an effort to minimize stress on the police department.

The board also approved the following: water bill adjustments of $32.64 for 234 E. Walnut St. and $172.38 for 326 E. Seventh St. because of leaks; a settlement agreement with Blaine Pike resident Ralph St. Myers regarding his complaints about trucks utilizing an adjacent right-of-way to reach the city’s wastewater treatment plant; a sewer tap for Around the World Candy Shop at 212 W. Votaw St.; and contracts with IWM Consulting Group of Fort Wayne for a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment and a proposal for a soil gas and asbestos assessment on T.J.’s Bicycle, Moped Sales and Service at 311 N. Meridian St. at costs of $2,200 and $6,853, respectively.