Bainbridge pushes forward with town improvements

BAINBRIDGE -- After a few slow months Bainbridge has started several projects and is looking to finish up some now that the weather has warmed up a bit.

At the May town council meeting Wednesday, a Safe Routes to School grant was discussed along with several other projects.

Town Council President Chuck McElwee informed the council that a contract had been signed to begin construction on the school routes that will extend from South Washington Street to Depot Street then on to the elementary school.

The planned sidewalks will offer a path for people to travel safely to destinations. McElwee said that the original design had the paths right next to the road, he advocated for a buffer to be put in between the sidewalks and the roadway.

"This is 'safe routes,' not convenient routes for the builders." McElwee said.

Concerns were brought to the town council about the construction affecting some of the properties along the route. McElwee reassured everyone that yes, there might be some small changes, but they would be an improvement on what has been there.

Along with improving the sidewalks, Bainbridge is taking steps to set up a comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan will allow the town to help guide plans for the future and will also help in securing different grants and low-interest loans for future projects.

The council will be interviewing firms on May 22 to begin moving forward.

A road assessment was done last month to see if any roads were in need of major repairs. After last month's heavy rains and flooding, several streets were reported as washed out and carrying signs of erosion.

There is no estimate as how much repairs to the roads and drainage issue would cost. More information is expected to be provided at the next council meeting.

In other business:

-- A tree-planting event will take place at East Point Park on Monday, May 20 at 1 p.m.

-- The stormwater project will be completed in the next month after some drainage issues are taken care of, it was announced.

-- The memorandum of understanding with North Putnam School Corporation has been reviewed. The council wishes to make some minor changes to it. More will be discussed at the next meeting.

The Bainbridge Town Council will conduct its next meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 12 at the Bainbridge Community Building.