Mayor Keegan Schmicker described two large infrastructure projects underway in Tipton that prioritized stormwater and utility improvements and resulted in road reconstruction. "West Street was our first effort in that and frankly, we learned a lot ... it's probably the nicest reconstructed road in the city of Tipton, from a base perspective," Schmicker said.

The administration said the work included installing trunk lines to the creek, rebuilding utility service lines, updating water meters and sanitary sewer segments touched by the work, and adding a path on the East side that continues the city's trail network. Schmicker said the projects were more utility- than road-focused, which explains longer timelines than residents sometimes expect.

During excavation on West Street the city encountered two gas mains that were not marked in the 811 service area. "We still today don't know if those are live. We've communicated that, of course, to the gas company, but we treated them during the project as if they were live," Schmicker said, describing the cautious approach taken to avoid creating safety hazards.

On East Street the mayor said crews laid an intermediate base and applied an initial coat of asphalt before winter; officials expect to apply the top coat next spring when the remainder of the project is complete. Schmicker added that the city is improving contractor communication and setting clearer expectations on project timelines to limit community disruption.

Schmicker also discussed pavement-preservation experiments on streets including North and Washington, using a product the mayor called "Liquid road" to extend pavement life for qualifying roads and reduce expensive full rebuilds when state funding models limit reconstruction options.

The mayor said those preservation techniques are not suitable for roads rated PASER 1–4 and are intended primarily for extending life on roads with PASER ratings of roughly 5–7.