City council discusses capital projects

Road work on a section of South Third Street to commence next year.

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By Nancy Bowman, Contributing Writer 8:21 PM Tuesday, November 8, 2011

TIPP CITY — City officials for the first time in a few years have money to spend on capital improvement projects, such as street paving delayed repeatedly during tight economic times.

Voters in May provided the staff and city council relief in approving a tax package with income devoted to capital improvement projects for the next 10 years.

The 0.25 percent income tax effective July 1 and a second 0.25 percent effective Jan. 1, 2013, are projected to generate around $13 million for the program.

Discussion about how and when to spend the money resulted in a few heated verbal exchanges during council’s Oct. 24 review of the proposed capital spending plan for the next five years.

Among major projects in the capital program are reconstruction of three streets, $400,000 annually in street resurfacing, purchasing a new fire ladder truck and renovating/expanding the fire/EMS station.

The fire/EMS station project, now in concept development, is to include space large enough to hold the new truck and sleeping quarters for nighttime EMS crews.

The fire truck purchase and the station upgrades both are scheduled for 2012. Council approved immediate order of the ladder truck.

Before council began its review of the proposed program, it heard from Joellen Heatherly of South Third Street. She presented petitions with around 20 signatures from neighbors asking the city to fast forward the proposed reconstruction of South Third Street from the 500 through the 700 blocks.

“We are very much wanting this to be done,” Heatherly said.

The project was scheduled for 2014 but the residents asked, and council agreed, to move the work to next year.

The neighbors said the street was damaged in a 2004 water line break and continues to deteriorate. They expressed fears including excessive vehicle wear and tear. The reconstruction project and accompanying utility work is estimated to cost more than $650,000.

Most of the capital projects in the plan were reviewed and recommended to council by a Citizens Capital Improvements Review committee, made up of residents who volunteered to help come up with a capital improvements program and who recommended the income tax increase.

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