The Chesterton
Redevelopment Commission has greenlighted this season’s TIF projects--those
located in the town’s tax increment financing districts and paid for with
TIF moneys.
At the commission’s
meeting Monday night, and at Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg’s
recommendation, members voted unanimously to approve these three projects:
* The re-paving of
South Calumet Road from Porter Ave. south to the Chesterton Post Office.
Schnadenberg specifically recommended the removal of the existing three to
four inches of asphalt, down to the concrete subsurface; laying one inch of
asphalt, then a Tensar fabric on top, then two inches of binder on top of
that and a final 1.5 inches of surface. The reason for the Tensar fabric
sandwiched in between: to prevent “reflective cracks” from emerging in the
surface coat, caused by pre-existing cracks in the concrete. Schnadenberg
was unable to say when that concrete was poured but it goes back to the days
when Calumet Road was Old 49, the through-route to Valparaiso. Estimated
cost of the project: $139,950, less $40,195 from a Community Crossings state
infrastructure grant, for a total out-of-pocket to the town of $99,755.
* The continuation
of the installation of the decorative street-sign pole wraps on Indian
Boundary Road east of Ind. 49. “They’ve been working out pretty well,”
Schnadenberg said. “They look nice.” Estimated cost: $9,000.
* And sidewalk
repairs and replacement on South Calumet Road from Porter Ave. to the
Chesterton Post Office. In some places tripping hazards will be ground down,
Schnadenberg said. In others, sections will simply be replaced. Estimated
cost: $10,000.
There are other
paving projects, on the other hand, which Schnadenberg said will need to be
done soon. Not necessarily this year, but perhaps next, if funds should be
available:
* Sidewalk Road
from Kelle Drive to 200E. Estimated cost: $110,000. This roadway,
Schnadenberg noted, took the brunt of the heavy equipment during the
construction of the Urschel Laboratories Inc. facility in Coffee Creek
Corner. Yet with the Eagles Crossing apartment complex project just north of
Sidewalk Road and the Morgan’s Corner build-out south of it, Sidewalk Road
continues to bear a significant amount of construction traffic, Schnadenberg
said, so the best bet is probably to wait until next year anyway.
* Dickinson Road
from East Porter Ave. south to 1100N. Estimated cost: $120,000.
* Dickinson Road
from 1100N south to Sidewalk Road. Estimated cost: $112,000.
* Sand Creek Drive
North south from Sandpiper Drive to Michael Drive. Estimated cost: $55,000.
Proposed Amendment
to Fiber-Optic Agreement Rejected
In other business,
members voted unanimously to reject an amendment to the commission’s
fiber-optic agreement, proposed by the municipal network’s contracted
operator, Nitco.
Under the proposal,
the municipal network’s original tap-on location to a pre-existing network
run by Spread Networks between New York City and Chicago would have been
abandoned--near the water tower on Broadway, by the fire station--in favor
of two other connectivity points, one at Meridian Road and C.R. 1050N, the
other at Ind. 49 and C.R. 950N.
Both of the latter
are already in Nitco’s own fiber optic service infrastructure and according
to the proposal tapping into these two would have saved Nitco an immediate
$80,000 in capital expenses as well as operational savings of approximately
$2.5 million over the next 25 years.
The commission
opted to reject Nitco’s proposal, however, on the grounds that there would
be no tangible benefit to the town. “I would prefer we don’t make any
changes,” President Jeff Trout said. “There’s no cost saving to the town.
There would be savings but not passed on to the town.”
Member Emerson
DeLaney concurred. “We don’t want to accept this,” he said.
Change Orders
Meanwhile, the
commission approved change orders for three separate projects:
* One in the amount
of $9,800 submitted by DLZ, the contracted engineer for the East Porter Ave.
culvert project, for additional culvert and roadway design as well as plan
revisions, in order to avoid the necessity of re-locating an existing
sanitary force main serving the Indian Boundary Conservancy District. In
addition to an earlier change order, DLZ’s contract price now totals
$121,165, versus the original price of $98,065. Half the cost of this
project will be defrayed by a 50/50 Community Crossings state infrastructure
grant.
* One in the amount
of $9,835.32 submitted by Walsh & Kelly, the general contractor for last
year’s Gateway Blvd. reconfiguration project. In addition to previous change
orders, Walsh & Kelly’s contract price now totals $192,152.11, versus the
original price of $168,948.
* And one in the
amount of $18,581.20 submitted by CSU, the contracted installer of the
town’s fiber optic network, for unexpected boring. In addition to previous
change orders, CSU’s contract price now totals $1,371,962.56, versus the
original price of $1,233,673.91.
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