Contract Stalls Installation Of Baby Box
March 1, 2019 at 10:38 p.m.
Contract Stalls Installation Of Baby Box
By Mark [email protected]
The box, from Save Haven Baby Boxes, was expected to be approved following unanimous and enthusiastic approval from the city’s Common Council at its last meeting Feb. 19. But the contract between the company and city calls for the city to pay the $10,000 cost and a $200-a-month maintenance and monitoring fee.
Thallemer said several donors have raised the money to cover the cost of installing the box, and the group Right to Life of North Central Indiana has agreed to pay the monthly fee.
“It just wouldn’t be good to have a contract that says the city would owe this money when the cost has already been paid by donors,” the mayor said. “And we need to re-word the contract to reflect that.”
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He added that he was confident the box will go in soon, but it’s worth a delay to make sure the contract is completely accurate.
In other business, Sheila Wieringa, city recreation director, got contract approvals for two concerts and a pair of other summer events.
She said the rock concert will be June 14 and the country concert is set for July 19. Headliners will be announced on local radio stations April 1 in return for live remotes from the venue on the day of the concerts and multiple promotional considerations in the days and weeks leading to the concerts.
The rock concert will cost $42,500 and the country show has a $27,500 price tag. The city will pick up $22,500 of the rock concert and $20,000 for the country event, with the balances picked up through donations from area businesses. The contracts for the concerts are with Mischell Productions.
Two more contracts are with Party Lane, a Valparaiso company, who will provided princess characters for a tea party May 4 and characters for Superhero Training Camp July 22.
Other agenda items included:
• Staci Young of the mayor’s office presented a contract with BIT computers for Phase II of the city’s network infrastructure upgrade. Phase I will be completed later this month.
• The board approved a street closure on North Buffalo Street March 16. Area restaurants Craft One Meatery, Mad Anthony’s, Ortho City BBQ and B-Mac’s will have a tent, with Craft One and Mad Anthony’s serving beer, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.
• Human Resources Director Jennifer Whitaker brought a trio of items to the board: travel requests, a contract for city employee medical services and a new hire report.
• The board approved placing a water cooler in the council chamber.
• Utility Manager Brian Davison received approval to put graphics from two art contest winners on department vehicles. The contest is run through Lilly Lakes and Streams Foundation, and this is the third year to place the winning art on vehicles.
• The board authorized two contract changes for sewer line replacement. The changes allow the ongoing project to encompass more homes and businesses.
• The board passed a special claim that caps the purchase price of the gas station at the corner of Detroit and Canal streets at $160,000. The agreed-upon price is around $152,000, and the claim will allow the sale to go through with the fees associated with a real estate purchase, such as closing costs.
• A webcam on the city’s website showing construction of the wastewater treatment plant expansion is live. A time-lapse video is also available.
• The sanitary sewer project for the Airport Industrial Park got approval to proceed. Work should begin around March 11.
Jeff Beeler, streets superintendent, wasn’t on the agenda but was called to the podium by Thallemer to give the board an update on repaving projects.
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The box, from Save Haven Baby Boxes, was expected to be approved following unanimous and enthusiastic approval from the city’s Common Council at its last meeting Feb. 19. But the contract between the company and city calls for the city to pay the $10,000 cost and a $200-a-month maintenance and monitoring fee.
Thallemer said several donors have raised the money to cover the cost of installing the box, and the group Right to Life of North Central Indiana has agreed to pay the monthly fee.
“It just wouldn’t be good to have a contract that says the city would owe this money when the cost has already been paid by donors,” the mayor said. “And we need to re-word the contract to reflect that.”
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He added that he was confident the box will go in soon, but it’s worth a delay to make sure the contract is completely accurate.
In other business, Sheila Wieringa, city recreation director, got contract approvals for two concerts and a pair of other summer events.
She said the rock concert will be June 14 and the country concert is set for July 19. Headliners will be announced on local radio stations April 1 in return for live remotes from the venue on the day of the concerts and multiple promotional considerations in the days and weeks leading to the concerts.
The rock concert will cost $42,500 and the country show has a $27,500 price tag. The city will pick up $22,500 of the rock concert and $20,000 for the country event, with the balances picked up through donations from area businesses. The contracts for the concerts are with Mischell Productions.
Two more contracts are with Party Lane, a Valparaiso company, who will provided princess characters for a tea party May 4 and characters for Superhero Training Camp July 22.
Other agenda items included:
• Staci Young of the mayor’s office presented a contract with BIT computers for Phase II of the city’s network infrastructure upgrade. Phase I will be completed later this month.
• The board approved a street closure on North Buffalo Street March 16. Area restaurants Craft One Meatery, Mad Anthony’s, Ortho City BBQ and B-Mac’s will have a tent, with Craft One and Mad Anthony’s serving beer, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.
• Human Resources Director Jennifer Whitaker brought a trio of items to the board: travel requests, a contract for city employee medical services and a new hire report.
• The board approved placing a water cooler in the council chamber.
• Utility Manager Brian Davison received approval to put graphics from two art contest winners on department vehicles. The contest is run through Lilly Lakes and Streams Foundation, and this is the third year to place the winning art on vehicles.
• The board authorized two contract changes for sewer line replacement. The changes allow the ongoing project to encompass more homes and businesses.
• The board passed a special claim that caps the purchase price of the gas station at the corner of Detroit and Canal streets at $160,000. The agreed-upon price is around $152,000, and the claim will allow the sale to go through with the fees associated with a real estate purchase, such as closing costs.
• A webcam on the city’s website showing construction of the wastewater treatment plant expansion is live. A time-lapse video is also available.
• The sanitary sewer project for the Airport Industrial Park got approval to proceed. Work should begin around March 11.
Jeff Beeler, streets superintendent, wasn’t on the agenda but was called to the podium by Thallemer to give the board an update on repaving projects.
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