Carmel committee recommends $2.53 million appropriation for street repaving; sends ordinance to full council 4-1

On Monday, July 21, the Finance, Utilities and Rules Committee of the City of Carmel voted 4-1 to send Ordinance D-2774-25 to the full Common Council with a positive recommendation. The ordinance would authorize an additional appropriation of $2,526,702 from the city's general fund (101) to the city property maintenance budget (1206) to support street repaving work.

Committee members heard a detailed presentation from street-department staff about how the city identifies and prioritizes paving work. Matt Higginbotham, street department superintendent, said the department uses an objective pavement-condition index, or PCI, produced from laser scans of the city's 1,440 lane miles. "We partnered with StreetScan in 2022," said Ryan Martin, project manager for the street department. "PCI is definitely more accurate. Just being a 0 to 100 scale already gives you additional…