New Carlisle approves 5-year capital plan, includes new city offices


By the Numbers

$74,000 — software upgrade funding through 2020

$128,000 — police cruiser, equipment funding through 2020

$45,000 — Belle Manor upgrades

In-depth coverage

The Springfield News-Sun digs into government spending, including recent stories on Clark County budget plans and school construction costs.

New Carlisle City Council members recently approved a five-year capital improvement plan that includes upgrades to the Belle Manor Nursing Home, which will become City Hall.

Belle Manor, 107 N. Pike St., will be donated to the city after a merger with Dayview Care Center, 1885 N. Dayton-Lakeview Road is completed.

Vancrest, which owns the nursing homes, could turn the property over to the city in about a year and a half, City Councilman Lowell McGlothin said.

New Carlisle had been looking for at least seven years for a permanent location for its offices when Vancrest offered to donate the facility.

“We’re definitely looking forward to that … That will be a godsend for us to be able to go in there,” McGlothin said.

Officials could spend about $45,000 on upgrades to the facility, according to the capital improvement plan.

The city could spend $10,000 in 2016, $15,000 in 2017 and $20,000 in 2018, according to the capital improvement plan.

New Carlisle city leaders would like to move deputies into the facility, McGlothin said, and hope Clark State Community College would consider putting classes in the building.

The facility would be an asset to the city as meeting space for city council and rental space could be offered to the community, he said, which would bring in revenue.

However Vice Mayor John Krabacher stressed that the city doesn’t have a deal with Vancrest in writing.

City Manager Randy Bridge said the capital improvement plan is a list of projects that are a necessity to the city as well as a “wish list” and the projects will be funded based on the city’s budget.

“Being that this is the first year of being a more healthier general fund balance, we wanted to make sure that we were buying the things that we needed, not wanted,” Bridge said.

The plan outlines proposed projects from 2016 through 2020.

The largest purchase in plan could occur in 2020 when the city proposes spending $100,000 to construct a new street department office and salt storage building.

Additional purchases include plans to improve the shelter house, upgrade computer systems, and purchase equipment for firefighters and medics and cruisers for deputies.

It includes plans to purchase software this year that will allow utility customers to make online bill payments. In addition, officials plan to replace the network server, purchase a new printer and replace a work station printer.

The software upgrades are expected to be completed in 2017 and 2018, depending on the budget. The new line printer will be purchased in 2016 and the replacement work station printer will be purchased in 2018 and 2020.

The city expects to spend $30,000 in 2016, $17,000 in 2017, and $22,000 in 2018 and $5,000 in 2020 on those purchases, according to the improvement plan documents.

In addition, officials plan to purchase new cruisers for deputies each year from 2016 through 2018 as well as equipment for the new vehicles and Tasers, computers and equipment to process crime scenes.

The purchases will cost the city $22,500 in 2016, $45,000 in 2017 and 2018, and $8,000 in 2019 and 2020.

New Carlisle Mayor Mike Lowrey said the cruisers are needed because of excess mileage and wear and tear on the current vehicles.

The city also is expected to spend $17,000 this year sealing the floor of the shelter house and purchasing a mower.

Next year, officials plan to spend $10,000 to buy a trailer to haul equipment and another $5,000 on constructing a kitchen area in the shelter house.

New Carlisle firefighters are expected to get new radios, gear and equipment that total $89,000 in 2016. Equipment upgrades will continue in 2017 and plans are in place spend about $79,000.

City officials expect to spend $12,000 to purchase an additional tornado siren in 2020.

Bridge and Lowrey said the upgrades are much needed.

Lowrey said the city has put off upgrades to the computer servers for years.

“People have been wanting to get upgrades for the past few years. We’ve just been putting it off and putting it off. We just need to bite the bullet and do it,” Lowrey said.

New Carlisle voters passed a half percent income tax for police protection in 2015, which will free up money for other projects.

“It’s a catch up on small things. It’s a patch work basically,” Lowrey said.

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