SYRACUSE – The Medusa Street water main and road project was awarded at the Syracuse Council Meeting Tuesday evening.
Four bids were received for the project but HRP Construction, South Bend, was the lowest responsive bidder at $421,728.
Also bidding on the project were Indiana Earth with a bid of $510,858.10, Beer & Slabaugh bidding $533,253 and Phend & Brown with a bid of $718,959.
Jeremy Hardy, of Commonwealth Engineering, said there’s also $104,000 for the roadwork and it is part of the Community Crossing grant the town received, so the town will only need to pay 25% of that amount. He also told the council the water main has to be done first, and they stipulated in the contract that the road work needs to be completed by Memorial weekend or will be halted until fall to avoid inconveniences during the busy summer season.
Both he and Town Manager Mike Noe told the council that this project was somewhat complicated, requiring large excavations, and the proximity to the lake created some challenges, which was why the bids came in high.
Council President Paul Stoelting asked Hardy if he reviewed all the bids, and asked if the council should be concerned because of the big price differences in the bids, and if that meant they might see a change order right away.
Hardy replied not right away but it is possible they could see a change order later on. Noe said water drainage issues at the end of the street could be cause for a change order later, but they won’t know until they get to that part of the project. All of Medusa Street from Front Street to the dead end will be blacktopped, according to Noe and Hardy.
Council members also accepted bids and awarded the repaving project. They received four bids to repave nine streets and Medusa. Bidding on the project were Phend & Brown with a bid of $455,428, Niblock Excavating with a bid of $416,545, DJ Construction with a bid of $372,738.78 and Pulver Asphalt & Paving with a bid of $340,501.50.
The project was awarded to Pulver Asphalt and Paving, Albion, as the lowest responsive bidder. The Community Crossing grant will pay 75% of that cost.
Noe also told the council that the Turkey Creek Dam and Dike Conservancy District is moving along. A hearing is scheduled for at 1:15 p.m. March 5 at Kosciusko County Courthouse to petition the establishment of the conservancy district for purposes of providing the flood prevention and control and improving drainage through implementation of strategies to maintain, repair and provide upkeep for the dam and dike system.
Clerk-Treasurer Paula Kehr-Wicker presented a resolution to the council opposing House Bill 1165 which will “prohibit current lawful practice of municipal utilities from requiring either landlords to co-sign for tenants or for requiring landlords to sign instead of tenants.”
Kehr-Wicker said not being able to put the bills in a landlord’s name will cost the residents in town because the town will have to spend more money trying to collect on unpaid bills.
The resolution states, in part, “The practice of requiring landlords to co-sign for their tenants or requiring landlords to be the sole signatory for its property has allowed the Town of Syracuse and municipal utilities throughout Indiana to keep the risk off their taxpayers and prohibiting this practice will in effect create an effective public subsidy for landlords allowing any loss from an errant tenant who fails to pay the final utility bills, not to be borne by the landlord, who is responsible for vetting its tenants, but rather passed on to all other ratepayers, exhibited in higher basic rates for all customers.”
The resolution “urges the Indiana State Senate, the Indiana General Assembly and the Indiana Governor to reject this bill.”
In other business, the council approved:
• Paying 50% of the balance owed, $9,292.75, to White Oaks Construction for work at wastewater treatment plant.
• A new roof for the wastewater treatment plant by White Oaks Construction for $15,775.
• Replacing three wellheads at a total cost of $24,120.
• Additional work to be done by Hardy on an on-call basis in the amount of $20,000.
• London-Witt for services and finance bonding not to exceed $35,000.
• Having Hal Hansborough taking over code enforcement in addition to the building inspection to fill the vacancy left by the passing of officer Calvin Kline.
The board also:
• Heard the Park Board parking lot project will start by March 1.
• Heard the town and the tree board was chosen as one of six communities for a tree canopy study and will receive 50 trees.
• Received updates from the fire department, including a reminder that landlords are required to provide working smoke alarms and the fire department has forms available they can provide to tenants.
