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October 2002 Status Report
It is my pleasure to submit my status report for your review and information. If you should have any questions about any of the items listed or would like information about something I did not cover, please do not hesitate to contact me.
1. Skate Park
All of the concrete has been poured and the fence installed. The ramps and jumps were delivered on Wednesday, and assembly of the equipment begins Friday. It is estimated that it will take about five to seven days to complete the assembly. It is anticipated that the park should be operational by the first week in November. There have been some questions raised about the rules and regulations for use of the park. Chris Bundy will be at the meeting Monday night to make a presentation on this issue.
2. Public Safety Building
The project is quickly winding down and should be completed within the next week. It is a very impressive facility, one that is much more functional than the old building. We went into this project with the goal of not only providing space for our current needs but into the future as well. Staff feels comfortable that we have met that goal. As we have mentioned in the past, staff continues to be pleased with the contractor, Three Rivers Construction, and the job they have done.
3. Wastewater Treatment Plant
The project is almost complete. The towers are now up and operational, and tweaking of the control systems is all that needs to be done to complete the project.
4. Coffee, Talk And Tour Day
As you know, tours of the Public Safety Building, Waste Water Treatment Plant, and new corporate aircraft hangar have been planned for Saturday, November 2nd. We are also using this as an opportunity for citizens to meet and talk with City Commissioners. The tours are scheduled between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., and we hope all of you will be able to attend.
5. Airport Fuel Tank
The 12,000-gallon Jet A airport fuel tank should be installed the week of October 28th to better serve the ever-increasing number of jets that use the airport. We have also had some success in renting out the corporate hangar on a nightly basis. We are still looking for a permanent tenant for the facility.
6. Pickard Street Project
My compliments to staff and Central Asphalt for the great job they did in resurfacing the street. As you know, they were able to complete the project two days ahead of schedule. While there were some complaints about the project, I think we were able to get people through the community rather efficiently and without a tremendous amount of disruption to the businesses along the street.
7. Park Projects
Our trail project is beginning to wind down for this year. As you know from previous reports, the dam has been removed and water is flowing over the weirs. We have also installed the 180-foot pedestrian bridge across the old dam site. The trail has been completed on the east side of the river, and you can now enter off of Watson Street and down into the old dam area. Just to the northwest of the dam we have installed two pedestrian bridges connecting at an island in the river. These two bridges connect the trails on either side of the river.
The north Island Park road has been completed along with the construction of additional parking. The Character Counts! gazebo has been completed except for the sidewalks leading up to it. The new parking lot and road are under construction in Pickens Field, and work continues on the construction of a fishing deck at Chipp-A-Waters Park.
8. State Shared Revenue
At the work session two weeks ago I advised you of our concerns about possible hits to state shared revenue. I have heard nothing further from the League on this matter, but I will of course keep you informed of any potential threat to our revenue sharing.
9. Borden Building
A committee consisting of our own Property Committee and three members of the EDC (owners of the building) will meet on Tuesday the 29th to begin discussions about the future use of the building. I will keep you informed about our discussions.
10. Sidewalk Projects
As I dictate this to you, final work is being done on the Crawford sidewalk. As you know, Russell was completed earlier this summer, and the repair work is also wrapping up, so the project should be completed for this year.
11. Charter Campaign
As you know, there are three charter ballot questions this year. Kathie Grinzinger has put together a very good informational campaign on the charter issues, including mailings to all of the residents in the City, and a talking points briefing book that is available and will be provided to all City Commissioners.
12. MRF Committee
A few months ago a committee consisting of staff and City Commissioners was appointed to meet with the County to discuss the future of the MRF. When the committee was initially appointed there was some question as to whether or not the County wished to maintain ownership and operation of the facility. At one of the first meetings the County indicated they did want to maintain ownership, so much of the work of the committee since that time has been in discussing the operation of the facility and preparing a bid for operation of the facility. For the last ten years the facility has been operated by Waste Management under a contract with the County. Duane tells me that the bid for operations will be out in November, and should be received in December.
Once the bids are received, the committee will submit a report and its recommendation to both bodies.
13. Community Pool
As you know we have had some discussion with the County on the prospect of a joint project. We have asked both City and County parks staff to put together a presentation on various alternatives, from an outdoor pool to an indoor aquatics complex, along with a gymnasium. The staff has a presentation prepared, and we would like to request a joint meeting of the City and County before the Commission meeting on November 11th when the staff would make that presentation to you. Please let me know if this time would be acceptable.
14. Construction Projects
As cold weather begins to set in, we are winding down our construction projects. As you know, Duane does his own status report, so I will not repeat that information here. However, I would like to compliment the entire staff for the job they did in designing, engineering, bidding and supervising construction of a large number of projects this past summer.
15. Airport Sewer Line
The township sewer to serve the properties along Airport Road and the corporate hangar is nearing completion. As you will recall, we agreed to an assessment in order for the project to proceed.
16. High School Parking
As you know, there were some complaints about parking along Preston Street at the High School athletic fields. The Traffic Committee reviewed the problem and conducted a survey of the property owners on the south side of the street. The Committee decided to approve a temporary traffic control order prohibiting parking on the north side of Preston. As you know, we use a temporary order to see if by posting "no parking" we will solve the problem before we make the order permanent.
17. Park Tour
We would like to schedule a tour of our parks and the new trail system before it gets much colder and dark earlier. We have set up two dates: October 29th or 30th at 4:00 p.m. Please let Jana know as soon as possible if you would like to go on a tour and which date works best for you.