A year from now visitors to Downtown Chesterton could well be enjoying the use of a restroom facility built in Thomas Centennial Park by the Building Trades students at CHS.

It’s not a done deal yet, but at the Town Council’s meeting Monday night Park Superintendent Bruce Mathias reported that Building Trades teacher Jeff Larson thinks it’s a good project.

“He’s got the blue prints in hand,” Mathias said.

Larson will have to seek the approval of the Building Trades committee and has yet to price out the specs but he does consider it “a doable project,” Mathias added.

Now the big question is timing. Where on the syllabus Larson might schedule the construction isn’t known at this point and timing is an issue. “We don’t want a hole down there” during the Wizard of Oz Festival, Mathias noted.

Once Larson has the green-light from his people and has submitted a cost estimate, the council and Building Trades can formalize the matter, Mathias said.

In other business, members voted 4-0 to award the contract for a new front-end loader to Roland Machinery Company of Portage, which submitted the low quote of $149,770. Member Jeff Trout, R-2nd, was not in attendance.

Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg did say that the apparent low quote submitted by Brandeis Machinery & Supply Company of Fort Wayne--$136,630—proved not to be a “responsive” one, as the company failed to address one of the specifications. And under Indiana Code, Associate Town Attorney Julie Paulson said, municipalities must award contracts to the “lowest responsive and responsible” bidder.

The Utility has agreed to purchase the Street Department’s old front-end loader for $50,000, in two annual payments of $25,000, which will cover the first two years of a lease-purchase agreement on the new one.

Meanwhile, Schnadenberg also reported that the re-paving of Fifth Street between 1100N and 1050N—delayed several times now, most recently by rain—should begin on Tuesday and be completed by the end of Wednesday.

During the road work, that stretch of Fifth Street will be closed to all through-traffic. Flaggers will be on site to provide residents of the neighborhood with ingress and egress.

Members voted 4-0 to change the day and time of their next meeting, as it’s likely no quorum would be available on the regular day: Monday, Aug. 27.

The schedule: the Town Council will meet at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28. The Redevelopment Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. the same day.

Member Jim Ton, R-1st, took a moment at the end of the meeting to remind motorists to use extreme caution beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 22: the first day of school.

“Look for kids and buses,” Ton said. “And honor the buses’ stop-arm and stop lights. It could mean life or death for a student.”

Posted 8/14/2012