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SYRACUSE - Greeley & Hansen engineers presented the Syracuse Town Council with a thick and in-depth preliminary engineering water system study Tuesday.
Jay Niec, of Greeley & Hansen, said the goal of the study was to provide the town with a comprehensive 20-year plan. In the plan, a new water treatment facility will be built and the old one demolished. The new water tower will be sized to hold 500,000 gallons. With the north tower also, the two towers combined will hold 650,000 gallons of water.
The next step for the town is to figure out how they will implement the plan, he said. The town has a large-scale plan with various funding options. Already, the town has filled out an application for a state revolving fund loan, Niec said. In the opinion of Greeley & Hansen, Niec said, it would "behoove the town to move forward with the design of the water treatment plant."
Information used for the study included the 1990 and 2000 censuses, discussions with town manager Brian Redshaw and utilities superintendent Clint Houseworth and information from Ball State University's Web site regarding projections for the community. Zoning also was taken into consideration.
"We're pleased to present this to you. I know it's been a long time coming," Niec said, but they wanted to make sure they had all the information and the information was accurate.
In other business, the council:
• Reported the town received a letter Tuesday from State Rep. Bill Ruppel that a portion of Ind. 13 is to be considered to be upgraded to a three-lane highway, not a five-lane highway.
Councilwoman Barb Carwile said the Ind. 13 widening project is a local project, not a state project. It was implemented by the town, not the state, as a local project, so the town would have a say in it.
She also told Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Steve Hite, who was sitting in the audience, "This is a council project, not a chamber project."
• Approved a bid of approximately $5,000 to $6,000 from McGrath Consulting to study the job and pay descriptions of the town's employees. If the consulting firm cannot have the information completed by May 13, the bid will be awarded to Public Sector Consultants. The council wants the evaluations by then so the various department heads can figure employee pay into the 2004 budget planning.
• Approved an ordinance fining a person $25 if they place any sign in the public right of way within the Syracuse town limits.
• Approved an ordinance where any person who violates any town ordinance is responsible for the town's attorney fees, if any, taken to enforce the violated ordinance or to collect a judgment for the violation.
The town council includes Larry Siegel, Carol Koble, Paul Stoelting, Barb Carwile and Bill Hane. They meet at 7 p.m. in the Syracuse Town Hall on the third Tuesday of every month.
