SYRACUSE - At Tuesday's Syracuse Town Council meeting, two public hearings were held regarding financing for the nearly $6 million Huntington Street water project.
The first public hearing was held for the Office of Community Rural Affairs (OCRA) grant and a representative from the Michiana Area Council of Government (MACOG) presented the timeline for the council, according to Town Manager David Wilkinson. The town is asking for a $700,000 grant and the application is due April 17 with another deadline set for June 20. No one from the public spoke for or against the grant and the council authorized MACOG to move forward.
A representative from Commonwealth Engineers led the second public hearing for the State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan application and included a slideshow. Wilkinson said in order to get the OCRA grant, the town has to show where they will be getting matching funds from, so the town is applying for a $5 million SRF loan for those matching funds and to pay the balance of the project. Wilkinson said they’re hoping to hear that the loan has gone through before OCRA’s deadline. No one spoke for or against the loan during the public hearing and Wilkinson said the council signed documents to move the application forward.
Matt Sandy, Kosciusko County Area Plan director, came to the council with a rezoning request for a vacant lot at an intersection of Pickwick. He said the lot is currently zoned agricultural and the request was to rezone it as residential. The council approved the request.
Wilkinson said he brought gateway signage ideas to the council, which he said was part of the town’s comprehensive plan. The town has one small gateway sign at one end of town but not the other. He said after meeting with the Beautification Committee they expressed they wanted “grander signs” — either over the road arches or monuments and signs that reflect the lake community.
Wilkinson said Wabash recently put in over the road arches, so he contacted them and discovered they used Signworks in Indianapolis. Wilkinson spoke to the owner of Signworks, who he said was “very excited” about the idea of working in Syracuse as he has a home on Lake Wawasee. Wilkinson said the council tabled it to take it under advisement and he will bring more information to them next month.
Public Works Superintendent Mark Aurich received approval for several items including replacing a non-potable water system at a cost of $113,269 to be paid out of sewer depreciation. They also approved a dehumidifier for the water plant at a cost of $199,206 to be paid out of water depreciation and Economic Development Income Tax funds.
The council also approved having Dixon Engineering do pre-construction engineering work on the south water tower at a cost of $40,800. Wilkinson said then the project would go to a public bid and the anticipated cost is $200,000.
Fire Chief Mickey Scott forewarned the council that a decision would soon need to be made about their ladder truck. To refurbish it could cost $1.3 or $1.4 million and to buy a new one would cost around $2 million.
In other business, the council:
• Approved a resolution authorizing electronic signing for INDOT projects.
• Approved an INDOT blanket bond, assuring $10,000 would be available if the town should impact INDOT’s right-of-way.