Bainbridge gets another big grant from the state

BAINBRIDGE -- The town of Bainbridge announced some good news during its Wednesday night meeting.

The town has received a state grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation worth up to $249,000.

The grant will go toward sidewalks and sidewalk replacement, curb ramps, crosswalks and minor non-infrastructure activities as part of the Safe Routes to School Program.

Town Treasurer Jason Hartman said the plan was to use the money to build sidewalks around Bainbridge Elementary. Sidewalks would be built from downtown Bainbridge to the elementary school on Washington Street and along East Oak Street to the school.

However, because Bainbridge will be undertaking a storm water project this coming summer, which will also go along some of the same roads, it will not be able to begin this project until sometime in 2013.

But the town is beginning to make a plan of what it will do with the area in the meantime, and the plans for the storm water drainage areas are being changed to keep the town from digging up the same sidewalks twice, Hartman said.

"Nothing's been done at this point," Hartman said.

The board also discussed a rough plan for a salt storage shed, which would also have an extended concrete floor that would hold the town's public dumpster. The shed would be 24 feet long by 36 feet wide and 16 feet high, with the concrete floor extending another 8 feet on the west side of the building, utilities manager Jim Nelson said. It would be located somewhere west of the town hall.

There are no bids for the project, and it wouldn't be built until next year, however the town is already looking for ways to purchase the building, which would also be used to store gravel and other tools.

Nelson said he guessed the cost would be around $29,000. But because other parts of the utility board are going to use it, funding can come from several places, such as the water budget, the sewer budget and the general fund.

The town gave Nelson the approval to look for companies interested in building the shed and submitting bids.

"I've thought all along, it's something that needs to be done," board president Richard Cope said.

The board also gave Town Marshal Rodney Fenwick approval to purchase a new police car. The board received three bids and decided on the bid from Dugan Chevrolet in Avon. The Chevrolet Caprice PPV will cost $27,692.90 and will include a separate customization process handled by JTN Equipment that will cost $11,868.24.