Bainbridge Town Council goes after storm water system grant

Thursday, April 15, 2010

BAINBRIDGE -- The Bainbridge Town Council held a special hearing Wednesday evening to hear about a Community Development Block Grant from the Disaster Recovery (DR-2) Grant Program.

Kristy Jerrell, flood recovery coordinator and planner with West Central Indiana Economic Development District, gave a short overview of the project process with timelines before introducing the project engineer Allen Jacobsen.

The project concerns storm water systems mostly in the southwest quadrant of Bainbridge.

It is aimed at improving several culverts located on Green, Washington and Depot Streets. It will also affect the area where the ballpark sits.

"There is a lot of water that flows into this stream area from fields northwest of town," said Jacobsen.

According to Jacobsen, the culverts on Green and Washington streets have some issues and are undersized for the flow of water. These will be replaced with larger, modern culverts. An area across from Vine Street has very small tiles and will also need to be replaced.

Cost of the project is $510,824 and would be 100 percent paid with the grant if the project is accepted.

Michael Guerrettaz, a resident who owns the property at the end of the project brought his concerns forward.

"I'm all for it, but for the last four years I've lost 200-250 square feet of lawn. It's disappeared into the creek," Guerrettaz said. "I want to know what kind of water flow this will cause for my property."

Jacobsen agreed the flow would increase maybe ten percent in a storm event. He pointed out the project was just in draft stages and that prior projects had come in 20-25 percent under the projected costs. He hoped there would be additional money for other projects and offered to talk further with Guerrettaz to find a resolution.

"This is just a template. It's not a final design," said Jacobsen.

During the regular business meeting of the town council, town clerk Jason Hartman town clerk told the board about two other grant applications that had been made.

These concern the department of energy and do not cost the town anything. They concern upgrading the lights in the big community room at the Bainbridge Community Center, lights in the utility barn, fire department and the gymnasiums of North Putnam High School, Middle School and both elementary schools.

The grant is for $54,581.

"The return on investment is 6.72 years," said Hartman, who added that most of the grants of this type applied for had been approved by the Department of Energy.

Hartman also told the board the annual clean-up day was set for May 8 and that volunteers were needed to help with the day.

Parking on Main Street will be restricted from 7:30 a.m. to noon on that day while the Bainbridge Fire Department washes down the street.

For information about clean-up day, contact Hartman at 522-6238.

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