Fillmore taps Putnam Street contractor

Monday, March 8, 2021
The rough stretch of Putnam Street in Fillmore will be resurfaced this spring. The Fillmore Town Council picked Calumet Civil Contractors to do the repairs for $117,000.
Banner Graphic/BRAND SELVIA

FILLMORE — The Town of Fillmore is moving forward with repaving Putnam Street after selecting a contractor to complete the job.

Bids from seven different construction firms were opened by project manager John Ellison of Kieser Consulting Group during the Fillmore Town Council’s regular meeting Thursday evening.

With advisement from Ellison to tentatively accept the lowest bid, the council approved Calumet Civil Contractors out of Whitestown for $117,000. The bid is contingent on the contractor having not made an error in calculating the project’s cost.

Ellison stated that the repaving was considered a “fairly straightforward” project that could be done in a week. This, he said, was why Fillmore received so many bids.

The project, set for this spring, will involve milling and resurfacing Putnam Street from South Main Street to County Road 475 East/Westwood Road — a little under a mile — as well as installing two ADA-compliant curbs on Main Street.

Last December, Fillmore was awarded a Community Crossings grant for $130,953 to do the project. Being a 75-25 match, the town would have picked up $43,651 of the grant.

However, Calumet’s lower bid means the town will not pay that much. Instead, Fillmore will owe $29,250.

Kieser Consulting Owner David Kieser told the Banner Graphic that he was pleased with Fillmore’s bids, providing that bids for different projects in different towns can be “all over the place.”

“We never, ever want to underestimate a project,” he said, noting that the original cost for the Putnam Street project was estimated at approximately $170,000. A municipality would otherwise have to come up with the difference.

Kieser emphasized that Fillmore getting this many bids indicated competition between contractors. In this case, it was good for the town’s bottom line with all but two bids coming well under the grant estimation.

In other business:

• Town Marshal Darrel Bunten addressed issues with a territorial German Shepherd that has been loose in the town for the past three years. A resident approached the council last month concerned that someone could be injured by it.

Bunten stated he had contacted American Animal Control in Kokomo about using a tranquilizer gun. He was told this was not possible and that the dog should be put down.

Bunten shared concern about the optics of him shooting the dog in uniform, in that doing so might invite backlash against the town. Still, he advised that the council needed to back him or someone else to do the task.

• The council consented to a six-year agreement with the City of Greencastle to inject the chemical Nitra-Nox at Fillmore’s lift station. This is to neutralize hydrogen sulfide, which causes corrosion, in the sewer main connecting Fillmore and Greencastle.

According to the agreement, the city’s obligations include installing a double-walled tank where the chemical will be administered at the lift station, as well as maintenance of the equipment. Meanwhile, the town will cover the electricity needed to operate the equipment.

The Greencastle Board of Works still has to consider the agreement. Its next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 17 at 4:30 p.m. at Greencastle City Hall.

• A resident approached the council about the town’s water rates. She brought a document claiming in 2019 that rates were to go down and a water bond was being paid off. She added that she pays $100 for sewer and that the town supposedly had a surplus then.

Town Attorney Jeff Boggess responded that a study had been conducted to determine the rates and thus keep the sewer system solvent. He added that the council is exploring refinancing its water bonds.

Boggess told the Banner Graphic that the document in question did not state that a bond would be paid in full, but that the rates were for paying the interest and principal of bonds incurred.

Terry Wood of the Fillmore Community Volunteer Fire Department joined Boggess, Bunten and the council for the meeting. Clerk-Treasurer Jayna Haldeman and Utilities Operator Joe Cash were not in attendance.

The next regular meeting of the Fillmore Town Council is scheduled for Thursday, April 1 at 7 p.m. at the Fillmore Town Hall.

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  • Yes I pay $100 for sewer only. It is hurting the residents to keep up with these high sewer and water bills.

    -- Posted by cen98 on Tue, Mar 9, 2021, at 1:03 PM
  • It’s time you contact LWG James Higgins CPA. This man is a miracle worker for citizen that pay high utility bills. If not stop complaining.

    -- Posted by Money wise on Wed, Mar 10, 2021, at 2:55 PM
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