The Salem City Council Monday night moved forward on several projects. The council approved an $869,752 bid from Rooters American Maintenance to resurface North Jefferson from East Schwartz to East Seneff, North College from 160 feet north of West Main to West Boone and West Boone from 200 feet east of North College to North Broadway as well as constructing a new six-foot-wide concrete sidewalk from Broadway to Boone on the south side of Bryan Memorial Park.
City Manager Annette Sola says they will now meet with Rooters to determine the schedule for the project.
“It’s possible that all of the concrete work will be done yet this year,” Sola said, “but the asphalt plants all close in October, so we don’t anticipate the actual overlay of the street to take place until spring or early summer of next year.”
Rooters also received a $50,078 bid to provide additional asphalt on the Kell Street Road resurfacing project to correct a soft space in the roadway. Sola explained the problem that was found during construction.
“They milled the top of the oil and chip off of the road,” Sola said. “They found a soft spot, it’s pretty large, and they dug down and actually added twelve inches of asphalt to the area in layers and rolled it and compacted it to help that area and stop it from moving.”
Two other bids were awarded. K.R.B. Excavating received a bid in the amount of $31,930 to repair gutters on the north side of the 100 block of Hawthorn Estates Drive. The project is needed to eliminate flooding problems on the street. CenPro Services, Inc was awarded a $22,300 bid to begin the cleanup of the third story of city hall and close it off from animal infiltration. CenPro will also determine future improvements needed. Mayor Nick Farley noted the work needed to be completed as a health safety issue for city employees.
The board also approved the annual tax levy and $50,000 appropriation of sales tax revenue for the Salem Bryan Bennett Library. A new ten-year franchise agreement was approved for Charter Communications. Four properties were annexed into the new TIF4, including a five-acre parcel where a 72-unit apartment complex is under development. Two other tracks are along Mills Cart Road near the rear of the Walmart Supercenter.
The council corrected language in the personnel code to consistently indicate employees with more than 20 years of service will be paid for half their sick time when leaving the city’s employment.
The Salem City Council is looking to replace current code enforcement and animal control officer Dave Lusch with two positions when his resignation with the city becomes effective later this year. Sola says the code enforcement officer will remain fulltime, but no decision has been made on if the animal control officer will be full or part time. The city council went into closed session to discuss the situation but made no motion when exiting.
