Leesburg Councilwoman Chairs Walkways Project
July 15, 2020 at 1:56 a.m.
By Deb McAuliffe Sprong-
Archer will chair the project, which entails working with the K21 Health Foundation through the process of acquiring $200,000 in grant funds designed to address community health needs. Board President Doug Jones will assist as needed.
Archer said at Monday’s town board meeting that she has notified K21 of the town’s plan for the grant. The next step is to fill out the online application with the specifics of the project. She said people from K21 will assist with the application as needed.
Once the application is complete, the K21 board will review it before any money is awarded.
The goal of the Walkways and Bikeways project is to add sidewalks to areas of town where there are none and to bring all town sidewalks into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Board members on Monday also discussed the town’s sewer system, which is in its 12th year, said board member Tom Moore. He said it’s typical that the first five or six years with a system are relatively trouble-free but a town can expect more frequent problems the older a system is.
He said he and sanitary sewer superintendent Derek Tenney have talked about various solutions as the town begins updating its sewer system. These include having designated contractors to handle problems as they come up rather than the town being responsible for everything.
Moving forward, Tenney will continue to dig up pumps when there are problems. Kester Electric will rebuild “whatever is wrong with the pumps,” Moore said, while D&D Electric will be responsible for the control panel at the main pump station.
Further, a contractor will be responsible for notifying utilities and verifying utility locations before any work is done. This excavating contractor will also be responsible for leaving any property that is disturbed ready for seeding. The town will take care of the seeding itself.
The town will also begin keeping some replacement parts for control panels in the Prairie Street building, and it will be the town’s responsibility to keep these parts in order, Moore said.
Before the meeting ended, Moore made a statement: “Without a plan commission, there are certain things we cannot do,” and thanked the town attorney, Vern Landis, for his input in a certain matter. Moore said after the meeting that this was in regard to the issue of long-term living in campers that the board discussed in June.
He said Leesburg does not belong to the Area Plan Commission, and to make such a decision the town would have to have its own plan commission. Apart from the cost of having a plan commission, he said, the town would need “five or seven or nine (town residents)” to be on it.
In other business:
• The board voted to replace a snowplow and mount for one of the town trucks. The accepted bid was from WA Jones for $3,448. Gardners Outdoor Power Equipment submitted a bid of $6,100.
• Street Commissioner Craig Charlton said the June 26-28 town cleanup went well. He said residents filled three large rolloff containers with discarded items.
• Parking on any street between 3 and 5 a.m. remains a concern. Charlton said he issued four warning tags and two parking violations for this issue in June. Jones reminded town residents of this ordinance and other town matters: No burning, be mindful of what you flush, and town speed limits are 25 mph.
The next board meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 10 in the town hall.
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Archer will chair the project, which entails working with the K21 Health Foundation through the process of acquiring $200,000 in grant funds designed to address community health needs. Board President Doug Jones will assist as needed.
Archer said at Monday’s town board meeting that she has notified K21 of the town’s plan for the grant. The next step is to fill out the online application with the specifics of the project. She said people from K21 will assist with the application as needed.
Once the application is complete, the K21 board will review it before any money is awarded.
The goal of the Walkways and Bikeways project is to add sidewalks to areas of town where there are none and to bring all town sidewalks into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Board members on Monday also discussed the town’s sewer system, which is in its 12th year, said board member Tom Moore. He said it’s typical that the first five or six years with a system are relatively trouble-free but a town can expect more frequent problems the older a system is.
He said he and sanitary sewer superintendent Derek Tenney have talked about various solutions as the town begins updating its sewer system. These include having designated contractors to handle problems as they come up rather than the town being responsible for everything.
Moving forward, Tenney will continue to dig up pumps when there are problems. Kester Electric will rebuild “whatever is wrong with the pumps,” Moore said, while D&D Electric will be responsible for the control panel at the main pump station.
Further, a contractor will be responsible for notifying utilities and verifying utility locations before any work is done. This excavating contractor will also be responsible for leaving any property that is disturbed ready for seeding. The town will take care of the seeding itself.
The town will also begin keeping some replacement parts for control panels in the Prairie Street building, and it will be the town’s responsibility to keep these parts in order, Moore said.
Before the meeting ended, Moore made a statement: “Without a plan commission, there are certain things we cannot do,” and thanked the town attorney, Vern Landis, for his input in a certain matter. Moore said after the meeting that this was in regard to the issue of long-term living in campers that the board discussed in June.
He said Leesburg does not belong to the Area Plan Commission, and to make such a decision the town would have to have its own plan commission. Apart from the cost of having a plan commission, he said, the town would need “five or seven or nine (town residents)” to be on it.
In other business:
• The board voted to replace a snowplow and mount for one of the town trucks. The accepted bid was from WA Jones for $3,448. Gardners Outdoor Power Equipment submitted a bid of $6,100.
• Street Commissioner Craig Charlton said the June 26-28 town cleanup went well. He said residents filled three large rolloff containers with discarded items.
• Parking on any street between 3 and 5 a.m. remains a concern. Charlton said he issued four warning tags and two parking violations for this issue in June. Jones reminded town residents of this ordinance and other town matters: No burning, be mindful of what you flush, and town speed limits are 25 mph.
The next board meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 10 in the town hall.
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