Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Friday, July 5, 2013
(BEDFORD) - Mayor Shawn Girgis will negotiate to purchase one building, while the city tears down another.
During a special board of works meeting Wednesday, the board gave Mayor Girgis authority to begin negotiations to buy the Jenkins building in the 1500 block of J Street, adjacent to Harp Commons, the downtown park on the west side of the Lawrence County Courthouse Square.
The city hopes to purchase the building and use it for storage and restrooms and to build a stage for entertainment.
In other business the board awarded the bid to tear down the old M Street water plant on the north side of Bedford.
Last month board members opened six bids for the project.
The plan, built in 1967, once drew water from Salt Creek. The city no longer pulls water from that stream, and the unused plant has deteriorated and is no long operational.
The facility has become the target of vandals, and Utilities Director Misty Adams says the city has a difficult time securing the property to keep people out of the area. The concern is that someone could be injured.
After opening the bids, board members learned the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs had to first sign off on the project, so the awarding of the bid had to be postponed.
The city received a federal Community Development Block Grant of $177,975 to help pay for the work. The state agency is administering that money and must sign off on the project before the city could proceed. So the process was put on until the city got the go ahead to proceed.
Board members voted unanimously to award the work to National Salvage Service Corp. of Clear Creek, which was the lowest bid at $147,000.
Board members also approved a parking change for part of 14th Street between J and K Street from parallel parking to angle parking after businessman Jim Deckard requested the change.
Plan Director Dan Kirk says the change would add two more parking spaces to that area.
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