The La Porte Business Improvement District on Tuesday voted to remove a downtown bench judged to be in disrepair and to seek repairs so it can be returned to service. Board members also discussed a proposal to have a local high school building-trades class repair benches and fabricate trash-can slats and lids.

Board members moved quickly after maintenance staff reported the bench posed a safety risk. Removing the bench was presented as an interim safety step while repairs are arranged. "It is in disrepair and it needs to be removed because someone's going to get hurt on it," said Jamie, maintenance staff, describing the condition and recommending removal. Clint moved to have the bench removed for repair; the motion was seconded and carried.

The nut graf: The board's action addresses an immediate public-safety concern and starts a plan to use a local vocational program to rebuild downtown street furniture at lower cost. If approved by the board, the plan would provide materials while students construct and repair fixtures as part of their building-trades curriculum.

During the discussion, Jamie said she had contacted the school system's building-trades program to ask whether first-year students could produce replacement slats and lids and repair benches, with the BID supplying materials. "We would provide them with the materials, but the kids in building trades would then build our tops, our slats, and then also potentially repair some of our benches," Jamie said. The board asked staff to return with an estimate of material costs after the school year begins.

The board recorded the motion to remove the bench, and the chair confirmed the motion carried unanimously in the meeting record. The board did not set a firm completion date for repairs; members asked staff to obtain a materials estimate and to coordinate with the school program. The action limits the BID's immediate responsibility to removal and repair coordination; restoration of the bench to the street is contingent on repairs being completed and an agreed reinstallation plan.

Ending: The board did not schedule a specific follow-up date but directed staff to provide cost estimates for materials and to report back, so the bench can be repaired and potentially reinstalled downtown.