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City’s share of downtown sewer project $300,000
Thanks to a “hardship determination,” replacement of a sanitary sewer line through downtown Greencastle will cost the city less than $300,000.
With replacement of the century-old sewer line along U.S. 231 from the Bloomington Street intersection to Vine Street and from Franklin Street to Liberty Street now scheduled as part of the ongoing construction work, the Greencastle Board of Works Monday approved a promissory note and agreement to pay INDOT (the Indiana Department of Transportation) $299,098.33. That’s the city’s share of what is expected to be a “well-over-a-million-dollar project,” Mayor Lynda Dunbar told the Banner Graphic.
It is possible the sewer line project could reach a $1.8 million total cost.
Board member Trudy Selvia made the motion to approve the single-page agreement, which was seconded and made unanimous by Thom Morris in the absence of Dunbar from the noon meeting.
“The fact that it’s a one-page document is amazing,” offered Selvia, an attorney by trade, of the agreement with the state on the project.
City Attorney Laurie Hardwick explained “this is what INDOT wanted” as the document puts in writing the city’s willingness to pay its share of the project.
“In most circumstances,” the city attorney added, “we’d have been responsible for all of it.”
The “hardship determination,” Hardwick noted, “is why we’re not responsible for the full amount.”
“It is a hardship for the city to replace the sewer line due to limited funds,” the agreement notes. “Therefore, it was agreed that the city will be responsible for a portion of the total cost of the sewer line replacement.”
Hardwick explained that the city’s $300,000 share was determined by taking 10 percent of annual sewage revenues.
As noted in the agreement, the city and state are partners in the venture with INDOT owning and maintaining U.S. 231 through Greencastle and the city owning the utilities beneath the highway.
During the ongoing road construction and water line work downtown, it was discovered that the city sewer line was also quite aged -- likely 110 years old -- according to newspaper articles researched by Utilities Superintendent Oscar King Jr. INDOT had reached out to the city for verification on how old the line was.
INDOT officials deemed the line in “very poor condition” and in need of replacement.
When Rieth Riley Construction workers attempted to set the sewer line aside to continue other work this spring, the line just crumbled, Mayor Dunbar explained in a situation made public in her State of the City address to the local Rotary Club at the end of May.
Mayor Dunbar confirmed that the location of the sanitary sewer line will be unchanged and remain in the middle of the street. That was the decision of INDOT and Rieth Riley.
Board member Morris had wondered if the city would have the opportunity to choose the location for the sewer line to lessen the impact of any future repair work.
There is a silver lining to that decision, the mayor suggested.
“Sewers don’t break down like water lines do,” she said, indicating that changing the positioning of the sanitary sewer would also affect the placement of the laterals that connect to it, resulting in greater costs to not only the city but likely property owners as well.
Meanwhile, weather permitting, the U.S. 231 project marches on with Monday possibly the last day for tie-overs for the water line work.
“We’re finishing up the water,” Mayor Dunbar said. “They couldn’t get a ‘line stop’ on the water line by City Hall so they had to dig up a little bit of Locust Street.”
The goal right now is to get construction finished as soon as possible through the downtown, she added.
Hesitating to put a completion date on that portion of the work with all the variables that can happen, the mayor did say that “within the next week or so, we should see some blacktop going down.”
That would be the first of several layers with a final paving to follow before traffic begins to flow again.
The next scheduled session of the Board of Public Works and Safety is set for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21 at City Hall.