Evansville board approves grants, contract extensions, permits and rooftop equipment lane change

The City of Evansville Board of Public Works on July 17 approved a package of routine items including a Vanderburgh County Solid Waste Management District grant for urban forestry, extensions to Community Development Block Grant–funded contracts, multiple right-of-way permits and a date change for rooftop equipment work at the Ford Center.

The board approved a $3,500 grant from the Vanderburgh County Solid Waste Management District to the City of Evansville Urban Forestry program to pay for seasonal watering and maintenance of trees planted in city parks and other public spaces. The board president moved approval and a second member voted with the chair; the chair announced the item was approved.

The board also approved three contract amendments and extensions tied to Community Development Department programs. Miss Foster, a city staff member in Community Development, said the board was seeking an extension to the CHDO operating agreement with Hope of Evansville Inc. so the group could finish its work; the amendment extends the agreement’s term to Sept. 1, 2025, and is tied to IDIS record 4967 for a total contract amount of $13,500. Foster said, “We’re here seeking an extension … to extend the term, until 09/01/2025.”

Foster told the board the city would extend a contract with Memorial Community Development CDC for the garden market program (IDIS 5076) to move the contract end date from June 30, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2025, under an amended total of $125,000. She said the extension would help the CDC better match summer payroll expenses to the grant year: “This will then enable them [to] match more of their expenses. These are payroll costs during the summer.”

The board similarly approved an amendment to extend the Memorial Community Development CDC youth employment program contract (YEP, IDIS 5079) from June 30, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2025, with a total contract amount of $200,000.

On right-of-way matters, the city engineer’s office recommended approval of a revised application (No. 2229) after the applicant moved work from a traffic lane to the shoulder of Burkhart Road at Lincoln Avenue. The engineer’s office endorsed approval on the condition that no material or equipment be staged in travel lanes and that traffic control comply with the Indiana Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (Indiana MUTCD). The board approved that recommendation. The board also approved permit applications 2231–2233 with the note that site-specific, Indiana MUTCD-compliant maintenance-of-traffic procedures must be implemented.

The city engineer’s office also asked the board to act on an amended lane-closure application for rooftop equipment work at the Ford Center. Mr. Wall, a city staff member, said the applicant rescheduled to avoid a conflict with the farmers market and provided an aerial showing two crane locations and approximate work times. Board members discussed that the work appeared connected to cellular facilities and downtown coverage; one participant said the redevelopment commission had an agreement with Verizon about rooftop facilities. The board approved the date change for the rooftop equipment lift, which is scheduled for July 25, 2025.

All of the items above were approved by motions the board chair put forward and that a second member supported. The chair announced each item as approved after members signaled in favor.

Votes at a glance - Vanderburgh County Solid Waste Management District grant to City Urban Forestry for seasonal watering: approved (motion moved and seconded; chair announced approval). - Second amendment, CHDO operating agreement with Hope of Evansville Inc. (IDIS 4967), extend term to 09/01/2025, total $13,500: approved. - Amendment, Memorial Community Development CDC garden market program (IDIS 5076), extend end date to 09/30/2025, total $125,000: approved. - Amendment, Memorial Community Development CDC youth employment program (YEP, IDIS 5079), extend end date to 09/30/2025, total $200,000: approved. - Right-of-way permit application No. 2229 (revised to shoulder work): approved with condition (no staging in travel lanes; Indiana MUTCD-compliant traffic control required). - Right-of-way permit applications 2231–2233: approved with Indiana MUTCD compliance requirement. - Amendment to lane-closure application around the Ford Center for rooftop equipment/set-up (work date amended to 07/25/2025): approved.

The approvals keep grant-funded programs and seasonal maintenance on scheduled timetables and clear the way for site-specific work under Indiana MUTCD traffic-control rules. Several items were brief and were approved with unanimous board assent as recorded by the chair.

The board then moved to other business and later approved bills and payrolls before adjourning at about 1:40 p.m.