By DAVE SCHULTZ
The Bluffton Board of Public Works and Safety approved the purchase of a not-exactly-new truck for the Street Department, playground equipment for Lancaster Park, and a contract to study drainage in the city’s Willowbrook subdivision.
All of the requests were approved on a 3-0 vote. Mayor John Whicker and Scott Mentzer were present at City Hall for the meeting, while the third Board of Works member, Josh Hunt, participated remotely.
The truck will replace one that is 24 years old, and will have equipment so that it can be used as a snowplow, to carry items, and other tasks as needed. It also will not require its operator to have a commercial driver’s license, which is a plus for an already-stretched workforce.
The 1998 Isuzu truck will be purchased from Imel Motors of Bluffton for $98,000 and will have a full warranty. The board opened the bids last week and Street Commissioner Tim Simpson reviewed them in the interim.
Simpson said the city’s current truck will not be traded in, but it will be put into a city auction and sold.
While the improvements at Lancaster Park have been approved and funded, purchases over $10,000 must still be approved by the Board of Works. Brandy Fiechter, the superintendent of the Bluffton Parks and Recreation Department, brought a request to purchase equipment from The Park Catalog, part of Highland Products Group in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The invoices are for $14,276.88 and $14,329.80. For that sum, the city will receive six standard picnic tables, three tables compliant with standards set by the Americans With Disabilities Act, and two sets of five-row bleachers. The price includes freight.
The Willowbrook study will be conducted by the Lochmueller Group for a not-to-exceed amount of $35,000. Money has been appropriated for the study from money granted to the city by the American Rescue Plan Act.
The study was prompted by the city’s desire to do something about flooding in one part of Willowbrook, but the study will take a look at drainage needs throughout the subdivision.
Mentzer said it was “great that we’ve moving forward with this,” but he also noted that will be a problem when the city will receive complaints about drainage problems elsewhere in the city.
City Engineer Kelly White said those requests and complaints will come, and all agreed that the city will have to discuss funding for other areas as they’re presented.
In other business:
• Simpson brought the city’s inventory of ADA compliant street ramps for approval, an action that is required every three years.
While he did not bring the full study to the board, he said it ran to 73 pages. The inventory is a requirement, he said, to participate in the state’s Community Crossings grant program. The report was accepted on a 3-0 vote.
• Four bids were received, but not opened, for work on the Cherry Street electrical substation. The city had set up a complicated matrix for the work, and the deadline to receive proposals was 4 p.m. — 30 minutes before the start of Tuesday’s meeting.
The bids were received from Power System Engineering, Magnin, Alpha Engineering, and Spectrum Engineering. Employees involved with the Electric Department will review the documents and bring a recommendation back to the board.
• A request for an encroachment agreement on West Market Street will be sent to City Attorney Tony Crowell for his review.
daves@news-banner.com
