LEESBURG - From a budgetary standpoint, the Leesburg sewer project is 14 percent complete.
Monday night at the Leesburg Town Council meeting, Matt Whitaker, of GRW Engineering, told council members that the sewer project is underway and pipe is being put in the ground.Sections of pipe already have been installed on School, Brubaker, Main and Yvonna streets and Rowland Avenue.
Whitaker also told the council that the license agreement with the railroad has been received. Construction on the portion of the sewer that needs to go in at the railroad will begin soon.
Also, the council approved a motion to spend up to $27,000 to add five additional customers to the sewer system. Three of the units are on Ind. 15 and the other two are on Plum Street.
The $27,000 is an estimate of what it will cost for pipe and labor to install the sewer to those unit. The additional cost is the same as if the units had been part of the initial project. The residents requesting the addition will be billed just like other customers, dating back to July.
The money for the additional units will come from the contingency money already built into the project. About $119,000 in contingency money is built into the project, along with about $90,000 to be used for equipment and other services if necessary.
Whitaker said the addition of the units could cost less than the estimated $27,000, and that there are "a lot of positives" to adding five additional customers to the system.
In other business, the council:
n Heard the town received a letter from the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission regarding semi-tractor trailers parking in a lot off Ind. 15. Since the land in question is zoned for agricultural use, semi parking, especially overnight, is not allowed. A sign will be erected at the site to keep the semis from parking there.
n Approved a motion to proceed with the paving of Old 15 from Prairie Street to Van Buren Street. The town received a quote for the project last spring, but delayed the project until sewer work was finished in the area.
According to Whitaker, "The asphalt cutting (in that area) is most likely done."
n Learned that leaf pickup in town will begin Oct. 1. Street Commissioner Ed Riordan said leaves will be picked up everyday beginning Oct. 1. Residents should bag leaves and leave them at the curb for pickup.
