The Maryville Redevelopment Commission voted 4-0 on July 22 to approve a $60,000 supplemental agreement with the Whitcomb Street engineering team, increasing the engineering contract to $260,000 and moving the Whitcomb Street corridor project forward.
The commission chair turned the item over to staff and Robinson Engineering for an explanation. Bob Ciani, Robinson Engineering, described the scope: "What we're doing is, the Woodcomb Corridor, from actually 90 First Avenue South all the way north. We're improving, the roadway. We're softening the curves at at 80 Ninth. And then we're we're proposing a couple of roundabouts." He said the design also contemplates three travel lanes in places, right-of-way work and coordination with the Liberty Estates developer.
Commission discussion centered on right-of-way acquisition and implementation steps. Angie (staff member) and Ciani said the work will be funded from bond proceeds. Commissioners asked whether the project includes traffic signals and street lighting; Ciani said no traffic signals were planned and that lighting would be confirmed. Commissioners asked Robinson to deliver survey and legal descriptions so the Jones Group, a Fort Wayne-based right-of-way acquisition contractor, could begin offers. "They are waiting on for the project to proceed and, they anticipate starting that process to for those owners in August," an RDC member said about the Jones Group's timeline.
Commissioners noted the project's scale and requested a brief status update at future monthly RDC meetings. A commissioner summarized the project scale during discussion as a roughly $12,000,000 corridor project requiring acquisition of about 27 parcels; Robinson and staff confirmed they would provide parcel lists and acquisition progress for future meetings.
Formal action: after discussion the commission took a roll-call vote. Councilor Haines Edwards, Councilor Chandler Felton, Councilor Uzelak and Councilor Pettit voted yes; one member was absent. The chair announced the motion carried.
The supplemental agreement approved on July 22 authorizes the additional $60,000 for engineering services and directs staff to proceed with survey/description work and to coordinate right-of-way offers with the Jones Group so acquisitions can begin in August.