Carmel Board of Public Works and Safety approves paving, drainage, contracts and event permits

The Carmel Board of Public Works and Safety on Feb. 5, 2025 approved a series of contract awards, amendments and event permits affecting street work, drainage, public-safety training and city facilities.

The board awarded the 25 STR02 paving contract to Howard Company for the base bid and both alternates, for a total of $6,853,166.82, and approved a $1,378,000 contract with William Charles Construction Company LLC for work in the Almond and Newark neighborhood. The board also approved a neighborhood drainage project at Pond Road and Almond Drive Loop after staff said the city secured $430,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for that project.

Why it matters: The approvals move forward street and drainage projects included in bond and neighborhood programs, authorize professional services for planned roundabouts and replace aging city data-storage hardware used to run municipal systems.

Top actions and details

- Paving: Crystal Edmonson of the Carmel Street Department recommended Howard Company for the 25 STR02 paving bid, saying, "The City of Carmel Street Department recommends Howard Company for the 25 STR02 paving bid. For base bid and both alternates, the total was $6,853,166.82; they were responsive and the lowest bid." The board approved the award by voice vote.

- Neighborhood drainage and related contract: Brad Pease, director of engineering, told the board the drainage award had been previously tabled pending an agreement for HUD funds and that the city has secured $430,000 from HUD toward the Pond Road/Almond Drive Loop project. The board approved the bid award and later removed and approved a related contract for William Charles Construction Company LLC in the amount of $1,378,000. The board voted to remove the contract from the table and approve it by voice vote.

- Emergency medical supervision and training agreement: Joel Thacker, Carmel Fire Department fire chief, described an updated agreement with Ascension Saint Vincent Carmel (formerly the sponsoring hospital) and said the department now has its own medical director and updated medical-direction and review provisions. "This is an updated agreement with our sponsoring hospital, Ascension Saint Vincent," Thacker said. The board approved the agreement by voice vote.

- Data center equipment: Kevin Cusimano, director of information communication services, said the city's SAN (storage area network) enclosure must be replaced to store the city's data. The board acknowledged the contract with Lake Tech Communications Inc. for $313,856.48 for SAN enclosures and related data center equipment and approved it by voice vote.

- Professional services and construction contracts: The board approved a professional-services agreement with American StructurePoint Inc. for $574,253.20 for design, right-of-way and construction inspection for the Hazeldale Parkway and Canton Drive roundabout (listed as a 2024 road bond project). The board also approved a change order (CO No. 1) with Globe Asphalt Paving Co. for the Rohrer Road Path and Watermain project in the amount of $295,277.09; staff said the contractor handled an emergency culvert repair connected to the broader road work.

- Maintenance, landscaping and utilities contractors: The board approved amendments and purchase orders for routine services: MainScape Inc. ($1,637,719 for mowing/landscaping and a separate $80,000 amendment for snow removal in the Arts & Design District), Signal Construction Inc. ($240,000 for line-locates and signal repairs), TruGreen ($267,893.14 for fertilization and weed control) and a $60,000 extension for Bar Communications LLC to continue media-relations work.

- Permits and facility uses: The board approved multiple requests to use city streets, sidewalks, Carter Green, the Palladium East Patio and other city property for events and private uses. Approved requests included coach bus parking on City Center Drive (Feb. 19–20), Shamrock The District (March 14–17), Carmel Giving Hope at the Civic Square gazebo (March 20), multiple wedding-electricity requests from Hotel Carmichael on different dates, the Carmel Elementary "Pup Running" event (April 20), a Creekside Middle School 5K (April 26) with EMS support, the National Day of Prayer (May 1) and the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts annual gala (Sept. 19–22). The board took the event items as a block where appropriate and approved them by voice vote.

- Right-of-way dedication and conflict acknowledgments: The board accepted a public right-of-way dedication from the Hamilton County Park Board for a planned roundabout at State Road 126 and River Road. The board also acknowledged uniform conflict-of-interest disclosures for Kurt Weddington and Benjamin Krieg.

Votes at a glance

All recorded motions in the meeting were approved by voice vote; the minutes and each listed item carried after the board asked "All in favor?" and received "Aye." The transcript records recurring "All in favor? Aye. Motion carries." without roll-call tallies or named no votes.

Meeting notes and context

- Several items were procedural or routine contract renewals and amendments; staff presenters repeatedly asked for voice approval and the board granted it without extended discussion. Brad Pease noted the drainage award had been tabled at an earlier meeting and was only taken up after HUD funding agreements were in place.

- On the Rohrer Road Path and Watermain change order, staff explained the contractor addressed an emergency culvert repair using crews available from the road project; that circumstance led to the change order.

- Fire Chief Joel Thacker said the department last updated its sponsoring-hospital agreement in 2006 and that the updated agreement reflects new medical-direction arrangements.

The meeting concluded after the board acknowledged the conflict-of-interest items and confirmed there were no add-ons.