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SYRACUSE - Four out of five isn't always enough for the Syracuse Town Council.
Even though there were four of the five council members present Tuesday, the board still decided to wait until all five were present to make a decision on the engineering services agreement for the water treatment plant.
The councilman missing Tuesday was Carol Koble.
Jay Niec, of Greeley & Hansen engineering firm, presented the agreement between the town and the firm. Originally, for the firm's services, the cost was $420,000, but Niec worked on the figures and reduced that to $392,700. The estimated cost of the project, according to Greeley & Hansen, is approximately $4.2 million.
Niec told the board they did receive comments back from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management on the preliminary engineering report Greeley & Hansen did on the project and there were only three comments from IDEM. Niec said they will make the modifications, send the changes to IDEM and then IDEM should approve the preliminary design.
Once that is approved, the town can move forward with the project. The town would have one construction season (approximately two years) to finish the project.
Council president Barbara Carwile told Niec she didn't have a problem with the agreement, but she did have a problem with the costs. She said they didn't know what the final project cost would be and it could be less than Greeley & Hansen estimated. If the cost is less, she said, "you're getting a heck of a lot of money."
She said she would rather see the contract be made out on a percentage basis (12 to 15 percent) than a final figure.
Public works superintendent Clint Houseworth said he was supportive of Carwile's idea that the firm be paid on a percentage basis. Industry-wide, he said, it seems projects like this, all engineering costs come in around 12 to 15 percent of the total costs. By going to a percentage basis, "there could be some potential cost savings there."
Niec said the firm's estimated numbers are from the manufacturers and the estimated total cost is based on those costs.
"The construction costs are based on real numbers," he said.
The $392,700 is cost for the design phase. Construction management costs are separate and will be 6 to 7 percent of the construction costs.
"I'm very comfortable with this number," Niec said of the $392,700.
Paul Stoelting, town council vice president, said he would feel better about it if the town knew for sure where the final location for the water tower was going to be. He also said he would feel better if they waited until they had a full council.
The council agreed to table it until next month, when they hope to have a full council.
In other business, the council:
• Adopted a resolution mandating that new developments have sidewalks.
According to the ordinance, "The construction and installation of sidewalks shall be the responsibility of the developer/owner of the real estate in question. Sidewalks shall be constructed and installed by the developer/owner for all new developments located within the town limits. ... The property owner is also responsible for the maintenance of the sidewalks. The construction and installation of sidewalks shall be required for any new land development projects."
• Adopted a resolution that states, "Approval of the town council shall be required before any new utility service, water or sewer, is extended to new customers outside of the town limits" of Syracuse.
• Readopted a resolution prohibiting the burning of yard waste, including leaves, grass and brush. Campfires are exempt.
• Agreed to hear Gary and Tonya Jenkin's request to vacate an alley at the November meeting. The alley is near the 303 E. John St. property.
However, Carwile said, "It's always been the opinion of the council that we don't vacate alleys." In the last 15 years, she said, she remembered only two alleys ever being vacated.
• Approved Kip Schumm to serve on the park and recreation board. Schumm will replace Bill Musser, who has resigned. Also, Jack Elam has resigned from the board.
Members of the Syracuse Town Council are Barbara Carwile, Carol Koble, Bill Hane, Paul Stoelting and Larry Siegel. They meet at 7 p.m. in the town hall, Syracuse, on the third Tuesday of every month.
