Council OKs closures for DePauw utility work

Instituting a new policy on street closures, the Greencastle City Council has authorized temporary street closings for two DePauw University projects.

The action by the Council at a special meeting Thursday afternoon will allow DePauw to temporarily close the following streets:

-- South Indiana Street between Hill and Larabee streets in association with tying the renovated Roy O. West Library in to city utilities.

-- Locust Street at Olive Street to facilitate connecting the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media (CCM) to the university’s underground mechanical system for heating and air conditioning.

-- Olive Street at Locust Street, also for the CCM project.

DePauw hopes to get the utility work done this week with students off campus for spring break. Mayor Bill Dory said the request should have been on the Council agenda for the March meeting but slipped through the cracks.

“It’s nothing DePauw did,” the mayor said. “I’ll take the heat.”

Warren Whitesell, associate vice president for facilities management at DePauw, thanked the mayor and noted that spring break seemed to be the ideal time for the utility work with most of the houses in the South Indiana Street area owned by the university.

As to the planned work closing South Locust and Olive streets, Whitesell said the university had been addressing mechanical issues in the CCM building and it was determined “the best solution was to connect it to the underground facilities.”

The timetable calls for “one moment, one dig, doing it at the same time over spring break” with separate crews at the two sites.

The plan is to restore the streets to full use by the end of the week.

Councilor Stacie Longden wondered about options if the projects are impacted by the weather.

If the weather proves “exceptionally severe” before streets are torn up, Whitesell said, rescheduling would be in order.

“If we have enough work in place it is in our best interest to get in there and get it done.”

He noted that “you can always weld under a tent.”

Whitesell assured that city police and fire departments have been alerted and signs posted in the area.

Councilman Adam Cohen, who lives near the affected area, said that four homes, right where South Indiana switches back to one-way, are always impacted when the streets are closed for DePauw’s Little 5 bicycle race. They end up with “limited access to their houses,”Cohen said.

“Indiana Street will be in full use as it is at present,” Whitesell confirmed.

Notification to those who live in the area has been done by letters to neighbors, an article in the Banner Graphic and internal messages online.

Meanwhile, Mayor Dory noted that part of the reason for closing Indiana Street is that city utilities are located on the far side of the street from the library project.

The renovated library should be open a year from now, Whitesell told the Council, explaining that after construction is complete, library books and materials will still need to be returned along with technological needs restored for the faculty and staff.

The closings were approved unanimously on a motion from Councilman David Murray.

Mayor Dory then explained that he is implementing a change in procedure with all such street closures -- including even those involved in the city’s own projects -- coming before either the City Council or Board of Works.

Police and fire will always have the emergency ability to close streets, he added.

Councilors Murray, Cohen and Langdon were joined for the brief meeting by Councilors Cody Eckert, Veronica Pejril and Darrel Thomas. Council President Mark Hammer, in the throes of tax season, was absent.