MENTONE - No remonstrators came forward Monday at the start of the Mentone Town Council meeting during a hearing about a grant application for the library project.

Bob Murphy of R.P. Murphy & Associates, Larwill, presented information for the town's third attempt at securing an Indiana Department of Commerce grant for the new library.

Funding for the project, which includes a day care center and senior citizen center, has twice been denied by the IDOC - once because the day care center didn't have its nonprofit status and once because the actual plans for the day care weren't established.

Murphy told town council members that the Bell Memorial Library board met and "took a hard look" at whether to proceed with the plans for the combined library/community center. He said the primary focus of the library board is, of course, to run a library. However, a community survey conducted prior to the first IDOC application indicated needs for the day care and senior citizen centers.

Murphy said the library board decided it was in the best interests of the community to continue to seek funding for the entire project and said it "has the full support of the library board."

In conjunction with resubmitting the grant application, the town council agreed to the library board's recommendation to hire Scearce Rudisel Architects Inc. of Winona Lake. The company was chosen not only because it is local but also because its fee for the project - $74,000 - was more acceptable than the proposed fee from the previous architectural firm that was difficult to contact. A prior bid, just for the building, was $75,000. Scearce Rudisel will do the entire project, including the IDOC's request for an up-front design of the day care center, for the $74,000 cost. For the other company to complete the plans for the building and contents would have cost the town $105,000.

The library grant should not compete with the town's upcoming application for a planning grant for a proposed sewage project.

Mark Harrison of Natural Concepts Engineering Inc. of Lizton said the earliest construction grant for the sewage project wouldn't be applied for until the following cycle, which would be this time next year.

The council moved forward with the planning grant application for that project, signing necessary documents with both Harrison and Shannon McLeod of Priority Project Resources of Indianapolis.

The planning grant is for $30,000 and has a local match of $3,000.

In other business, the council:

• Approved street superintendent Darrel Miller's priority list for street paving. Miller provided a list of several streets and alleys to be resurfaced this year and, after obtaining quotes from two companies, opted to have $26,056 worth of work done.

The following streets are slated for repair by Phend & Brown: Broadway Street, from Harrison to Maple streets; Morgan Street, from Jackson to High streets; Harrison Street, from Tucker to Broadway streets; and an alley with a 50-50 cost share with a resident.

• Hired J.W. German Construction to replace the caps on the water tower pads. The quote for the job was the only one received and the work will be done for $2,850.

• Tabled action on replacing the roof of the town shop and purchase of a tornado alarm.

• Heard information from Miller that a video of the storm sewer showed it was clear from the park and for 638 feet before it was stopped by roots from a tree about 30 feet from the tile. It is estimated there is about 60 feet of roots covering the bottom third of the tile. Miller will seek quotes to get the storm tile cleaned.

The Mentone Town Council meets at 7 p.m. the first Monday of each month in the town hall. Because of the Labor Day holiday, though, the next meeting was moved to Sept. 10.

Council members are Ed Rock, Ed Lamar and Mike Diemer. [[In-content Ad]]