Speedway reports progress on Dr. Sharma project; 20 Fifth Street bids come in below estimate

Town staff reported progress Feb. 18 on a private development reimbursement and on two public-road projects, and said the town issued a general obligation bond to pay for upcoming reconstruction work.

Grant Kleinhens said the commission finalized an agreement with Dr. Sharma under which the town will reimburse about $22,000 for water and sewer connection permits and similar items once the project is complete. “They have made progress on that. You can see the building change almost weekly,” Kleinhens said.

Kleinhens also told the commission the town bid reconstruction of 20 Fifth Street (from Lyndhurst to Parkwood, west of the library). The town estimated the project at roughly $3,800,000 but received bids near $2,300,000. “So with our funds from the state that we had applied for and received approval, our local dollars will only be required to the tune of about $1,200,000,” Kleinhens said, and added that the town issued a general obligation bond to pay for that work and the Crawfordsville Road project.

Crawfordsville Road bid results were pending at the meeting; Kleinhens said bid numbers were due the following Wednesday and that the council was expected to approve the bid award on March 10. Kleinhens did not identify specific contractors or publish a project timeline at the meeting.

Commissioners noted constraints around parcel ownership in the downtown area — including a single parcel that contains Leonard Park and the former town-hall property — and said parcel configuration influenced how the commission mapped redevelopment areas. No formal actions were taken on the Dr. Sharma reimbursement or the street bids at the Feb. 18 meeting beyond the staff report.

Kleinhens’s remarks were presented during the director’s report portion of the meeting.