While the concerns of the citizens about the condition of the Albin Pond Road on the northeast side of Greencastle have delivered a steady choir of comments in recent years, the city has taken one of the first steps to restore the street.
At its meeting in April, the Board of Directors for public work and security, after the recommendation of the city engineer Jeff Mahan, approved $ 57,497 for 15 security barriers of Valtir LLC Energy Absorption Systems from Pell City.
The purchase price only applies to materials. The security barriers are installed by city workers, which they place behind the current guardrails along the Albin Pond Road.
Albin Pond Road will receive a temporary solution, said Mayor Lynda Dunbar, when it is resumed this summer.
The Albin Pond Road, which was built on an old rail bed with an elevated railway, needs great work for which the entire area has to be ruled, the mayor said.
The security barriers are viewed as a stop gap measure until the city can completely repeat the Albin Pond Road, a project that “may be eight years later, unless we can get the money for it,” said Dunbar.
This can mean applying for a future Community Crossing subsidy for the state, such as the 1.5 million dollar version that will help the city will get back this week.
Board member Trudy Selvia presented the application for approval of the purchase of the security barriers, which was made unanimous by Thom Morris and Mayor Dunbar.
No schedule was given to install the security barriers.
In other businesses of the Board of Works:
• approved a three-year contract for $ 75,000 a year with Greencastle Township to ensure fire protection for the municipality. Mayor Dunbar said that the contract had been a position since her work as a city clerk for $ 50,000, a position that she held from 2012 to 2023. The mayor had proposed to double the contract to $ 100,000, but the Township Advisory Board approved an increase of 25,000 to 75,000 US dollars for 2025, 2026, 2027 and beyond, unless another amount is agreed. The contract for fire protection also includes the provision that the municipality pays 100,000 US dollars for the purchase of a new Pumper fire brigade car.
• Approved purchase of a diving mud pump on the recommendation of the sewage director Oscar King Jr. at a price of $ 35,921 from Xylem Water Solutions USA, Indianapolis. The current pump took 10 years and appears to be “going out”, King said that it is time to replace the pump before the loss decreases in the factory. Three working pumps are needed to properly operate the system, said King. The old pump is likely to be repaired and becomes a safety unit.
• The mayor authorized to approve change orders of no more than 50,000 US dollars for the East Washington Street project (between Wood Street and Percy Julian Drive) instead of waiting to put such change orders on the overall bed. “We need this project to continue and not to wait for us,” said Selvia.
• The fireman Stephen Kerr, the firefighter of Greencastle, who granted full -time status on May 3. Fire chief Rob Frank found that the GfD board of the captains had supported the full-time status of Kerr in a unanimous vote. The fire brigade is fully occupied with 17 firefighters with the hiring of Cassie Baldwin on January 1, said Frank.
• Open offers for the Lighting project in the city center, which has two phases – Jackson Street (from Washington Street to Shadowlawn) and the Indiana Street (Walnut Street after the Columbia Street). TC Electric submitted only one bid of $ 850,520 for Jackson Street's work, while Edco General Contractor submitted a bid of 758,425 US dollars for the work of Jackson Street and $ 2202 for the job of Indiana Street. This includes removing the party lights from the construction of anchors and inserting poles. The offers were transferred to the City Engineer with the GreenCastle renovation commission, which would probably make the decision at their meeting on Wednesday evening.
Dunbar, Selvia and Morris were accompanied to the 70-minute meeting of Laurie Hardwick, the office streamer Mikayla Johnson and the deputy employee Melanie Welker.
The next regularly planned meeting of the Board of Works will be set on Wednesday, May 21, in the town hall for 4:30 p.m.