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Hammond board approves CIB allocations for quiet zone, EV chargers and Summer Street work; rejects downtown station bids
Summary
The Hammond Board of Public Works & Safety approved Capital Improvement Board funding allocations for a railroad quiet zone administrative fee, four electric vehicle charging stations and local match for Summer Street reconstruction change orders, and agreed to reject two over-budget bids for the downtown train station project.
The Hammond Board of Public Works & Safety on Sept. 18 approved multiple Capital Improvement Board (CIB) funding allocations and authorized related actions for local infrastructure projects, and voted to reject two over-budget bids for the downtown train station.
City staff requested $26,500 in CIB funds to cover Norfolk Southern27s administrative fee to pursue Federal Railroad Administration approval for a quiet zone through downtown Hammond and Hessville. "We have been working on establishing quiet zones, both for Downtown Hammond and for Hessville," said Dean Button, who presented the correspondence. Button said crossings affected include Willow, Sibley, Oakley and several downtown crossings; two crossings (Arizona and Parish) will be closed because of the Governor27s Parkway project. The board approved allocating $26,500 and authorized the city engineer to execute the agreement with Norfolk Southern to move the quiet-zone application forward.
The board also approved a $106,300 CIB allocation to install four electric vehicle charging stations using equipment previously procured with a federal energy-efficiency grant. Button said Nies Engineering recommended awarding the installation contract to Midwestern Electric as the low bidder; the board approved the funding allocation and the recommendation.
For the federally funded Summer Street reconstruction project, staff presented change orders primarily tied to unexpected utility work and one no-cost change related to an asphalt binder change. Button asked the board to approve $15,567.94 in CIB funds as the city27s local match for those change orders. The board approved that funding allocation and the submitted change orders.
On the downtown Hammond train station, staff recommended rejecting the two bids opened Sept. 4 because both were significantly over the project budget. Button said the city plans to reduce the project scope and re-advertise. The board approved rejecting the bids so the project team can re-scope and re-bid.
The board recorded the funding approvals and the bid rejection during the correspondence portion of the meeting; members moved for approval and each time a colleague "concurred," as the meeting transcript records. No roll-call vote tally was recorded in the transcript.
The approvals will allow staff to finalize the quiet-zone agreement, proceed with EV charger installations under the recommended contractor, and submit the local match to INDOT for Summer Street change orders. The downtown station project will be re-scoped and brought back for re-advertising.
Funding and contractor details presented to the board were: $26,500 — CIB funding for Norfolk Southern administrative fee for quiet-zone application; $106,300 — CIB funding for four EV charging stations and recommendation to award installation to Midwestern Electric; $15,567.94 — CIB funding for Summer Street change orders (city local match); rejection of two bids for the downtown train station with plans to reduce scope and re-advertise.
