Schererville council approves Kennedy Avenue property purchases, contracts, biosolids credit and donations (votes at a glance)

The Schererville Town Council on Jan. 15 approved a series of motions affecting town contracts, the Kennedy Avenue Improvement Project Phase 2, and other routine business. Most motions passed unanimously by recorded voice vote.

Key outcomes at a glance

- Accepted change order No. 3 (credit) from Hass Construction Company Inc. for the biosolid storage building project: credit of $45,000. Motion passed, 5-0.

- Approved the annual contract between the Town of Schererville and the town attorney’s firm (as stated in the meeting): motion passed, 5-0.

- Approved the annual contract for town engineering services (firm named in the meeting): motion passed, 5-0.

- Approved purchase of right-of-way property at 398 Kennedy Avenue from BP Midwest Product Pipeline Holdings, LLC for $42,100 and authorized the town manager, director of operations, clerk-treasurer and town attorney to finalize documents for Kennedy Avenue Improvement Project Phase 2: motion passed, 5-0.

- Approved purchase of parcels at 1225/1227 and 1231/1233 Kennedy Avenue from Steve Miller for $31,800 (appraised value plus additional compensation for concrete work) and authorized execution of documents: motion passed, 5-0.

- Accepted an access easement agreement with Maestro Industries and Prism Painting to provide access to the relocated lift station site needed for Kennedy Avenue improvements; the easement carries no purchase cost and the council authorized the town council president to sign documents: motion passed, 5-0.

- Accepted in-kind and monetary donations received in December totaling $5,173.99 (in-kind $4,305.99; monetary $868): motion passed, 5-0.

Other routine approvals

- The councils/boards in the meeting approved minutes and claims as follows: Waterworks Board minutes (Dec. 11 and Dec. 30) approved 3-0; Waterworks claims approved 3-0. Redevelopment Commission minutes and claims approved (vote reported as 5-0). Utility Board minutes and claims approved (votes reported as 5-0). Town Council minutes (Dec. 3, Dec. 11 and Dec. 30) and payment of town claims were approved 5-0.

Vote details and who voted yes

Town Council yes votes recorded as: Rob Getzloff (president), Tom Schmidt, Kevin Conley, Robin Arvanites and Caleb Johnson — each motion listed above carried 5-0 unless otherwise noted. Waterworks Board yes votes recorded as Kevin Conley, Tom Schmidt and Robin Arvanites (3-0). Redevelopment Commission and Utility Board votes were recorded as unanimous (5-0).

Brief background on a few items

- Biosolid storage building change order No. 3: Staff reported the contractor substituted some wire mesh material and the substitution produced a $45,000 credit back to the town.

- Kennedy Avenue parcels and easement: Staff (Andrew Hanson and others) showed project mapping on the meeting projector and said the purchases and easement are necessary for intersection improvements, a future traffic signal and lift-station relocation tied to Kennedy Avenue Improvement Project Phase 2.

What was not decided

No new ordinances were adopted at the Jan. 15 meeting, and the council did not allocate any unbudgeted, multi-year funding outside the actions listed above.