City drafts plan for American Rescue Act dollars

Thursday, May 27, 2021

How to allocate the use of an estimated $2.14 million from the American Rescue Plan Act over the next four years was the main issue before city officials at a special meeting Tuesday night.

Use it for infrastructure improvements to areas like Toddson Drive and J-Mar Drive on the city’s northeast side that lack sanitary sewers?

Save it for a rainy day? Actually you can’t do that in accordance with the Rescue Plan.

Use it to extend sanitary sewer service to the city water plant north of the Putnam County Fairgrounds?

Or maybe use some of it to facilitate a community effort to encourage getting the Covid vaccine?

Those were some of the major ideas tossed around for more than an hour after Mayor Bill Dory formulated a draft plan on how the money might be used.

Under Part A, a response to the public health emergency and assistance to businesses and households, Dory allocated a potential $200,000 ($50,000 a year for four years); a potential $120,000 over four years for assistance to impacted for-profit businesses and $200,000 over four years for not-for-profit businesses.

Under Part C, replacement of revenue shortfalls, it was proposed to use $59,926 (actual dollars) for 2020; an estimated $100,000 for 2021; an estimated $350,000 for 2022; an estimated $100,000 for 2023; with nothing set aside for 2024.

Under Part D, the investment of remaining funds in water and sanitary sewer infrastructure, is where things got more interesting and specific.

The mayor estimated $889,074 for the Toddson Drive and J-Mar Drive sanitary sewer project. The amount listed is the remainder amount after other programs are funded, it was noted. The actual budget for the work will be adjusted upon completion of a study being done by Curry & Associates (a $5,000 expense recently approved by the Board of Works).

The study should also include the cost to extend a sewer line to the intersection of Albin Pond Road and Round Barn Road should the county wish to consider sanitary sewer service for the small lots along Range Line Road, the mayor noted.

“There are only two streets in town that don’t have sanitary sewers,” Mayor Dory said of Toddson and J-Mar, located south of Albin Pond Road and west of the pond. “Laurie (City Attorney Hardwick) keeps reminding me we need to rectify that.”

City services, such as sewers, are supposed to be provided to newly annexed areas within three years of annexation. It been closer to 30 years now for Toddson and J-Mar.

“I hope we’re all in agreement,” Councilman Dave Murray said. “Toddson and J-Mar have been in the city a long time. They deserve it.”

Mayor Dory called the American Rescue Plan money “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get that done.”

That is also true of the idea of running a sanitary sewer line out to the city water plant. The sewer line could serve the residents of the Edgelea Subdivision if the county would contribute to a joint venture and use some of its $7.9 million in rescue funds to provide sanitary sewer service to that area just north of the city limits.

In 2004 a study and cost estimate was done for extending the sanitary sewer north of the city limits to incorporate the Edgelea Subdivision, the fairgrounds, businesses along U.S. 231 and the water plant. Using cost estimates, the city’s portion to extend the sewer would be approximately $220,700. The overall project would likely be in the range of $4.5 to $5 million, subject to new engineering review and an update cost estimated.

“It would benefit us in the long run,” Mayor Dory said, noting that if the county built the sanitary sewer system, the city would potentially pick up “a couple hundred new customers.”

Septic systems in some areas of Edgelea have been an issue over the years and some properties are now failing on their second system, the mayor said. “The situation is not going to go away, and right now the fairgrounds is still on a pump-and-haul (sewage system),” he added.

Perhaps the most discussion occurred after Councilman Adam Cohen asked it any of the funds could be used to aid the vaccination effort locally. Latest figures put Putnam County at some 11,000 persons fully vaccinated, while Indiana was 11th from the bottom, Cohen said.

“In order to overcome the obstacles, we’re going to have to go to them,” Cohen reasoned. “There are reasons people aren’t getting them (vaccinations).

“In our city, it’s going to come down to a door-to-door effort to answer their questions,” he added, noting that the city shouldn’t have to wait on partnering with the county in this case. “We’re responsible to the citizens of Greencastle.”

Mayor Dory suggested churches could “play a key role” in such an effort since they have rooms where people can get their shot in private.

Councilor Stacie Langdon suggested that doing a walk-in event might be more effective than having people go online to make an appointment.

Possibly doing a vaccination event during First Friday was also suggested.

Mayor Dory said he would get information from Putnam County Hospital about costs involved in sending out a team for eight hours a day.

Meanwhile, under the loss of potential revenue discussion, it was pointed out that the city lost primarily Motor Vehicle Highway (MVH) funds last year as people didn’t drive as much and didn’t buy as much gasoline during the pandemic.

Clerk-Treasurer Lynda Dunbar said those reviewing the dollars will look at 2019 MVH money and “anything below that is a loss.”

“The reality is,” she added, “if the price of gas keeps going up, we might have to recover from 2022 and 2023.”

The city hasn’t seen a loss of revenue from income taxes yet “but probably will in 2022 when our income taxes come in,” the mayor said.

One revenue loss that Dunbar could point to was the lack of pool admissions revenue after the 2020 closure due to Covid. Not counting potential concession sales, that amounts to a $50,000 to $60,000 loss of revenue, the clerk-treasurer said.

The Council is scheduled to consider the plan for approval during its June 10 meeting.

In other business, the City Council:

• Authorized a memorandum of understanding between the city and DePauw University regarding the forthcoming Roy O. West Library renovation project.

Among the points stipulated is that the construction trailer currently located in the grassy area south of the Olive Street parking lot and west of Lincoln Avenue may remain in that location until 60 days after completion of the library project. Upon its removal, the area is to be returned to grass. Councilman Cohen, who resides in that area, said, “For the record, my neighbors are very happy it’s going back to grass.”

Standard hours of construction -- including pre-staging of equipment and materials and moving lifts and other equipment -- were set at 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Any work occurring prior to 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. must have prior approval of the mayor and only with proper justification.

Mayor Dory said during the recent residence hall construction, he had “several conversations” with the contractors about minimizing noise as much as possible following complaints by neighbors along South Locust Street.

DePauw’s Rob Harper, assistant director of facilities management, grounds and landscaping, was asked when the Roy O. West project might commence. “Books are moving,” he responded. “Books are happening. It’ll probably be June 1.”

The project will renovate all four floors of the 85,000-square-foot library, as well as constructing a 14,750-square-foot addition to the west of with a new entrance off Indiana Street to better tie the facility to the Greencastle community.

The city also agreed to allow DePauw to close the parking lane along the east side of Indiana Street from Larrabee Street to Seminary Street to facilitate deliveries and unloading of equipment during construction.

• Approved a street closure request from the Greencastle Masonic Lodge to close Vine Street between Washington Street and the alley during the Friday, June 4 fish fry, which will coincide with First Friday for the first time ever. The street closure will allow the lodge to set picnic tables in the street and keep them eight feet apart, spokesman Jerrod Baugh said.

Mayor Dory and Clerk-Treasurer Dunbar were joined for the special meeting by Councilors Cohen, Murray, Langdon, Mark Hammer and Veronica Pejril. Cody Eckert and Jacob Widner were absent.

The Council will next meet in regular session at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 10 at City Hall.

Comments
View 1 comment
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • *

    As a resident of JMar Drive, I hope a road surface comes with the sewage service.

    -- Posted by kvickykrider on Mon, May 31, 2021, at 1:02 PM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: