By John Estridge
Union County Commissioners approved a $1.226 million contract with O’Mara Paving to pave 16 miles of county roads in 2021.
This will be made possible with a $989,000 Community Crossings Grant. With this grant, which is administered and distributed by the Indiana Department of Transportation, the county has to put up 25 percent of the project’s cost.
The roads to be paved this year include: Patterson Road from Old Brownsville Road to Clifton; Clifton Road from Brownsville Road to U.S. 27; Philomath Road from Jobe Road to Union County Line Road; Brownsville Road from North 2nd Street to Clifton Road; Swafford Road from Indiana 44 East to 200 North; and the entire length of Hoppes Road from Ind. 101 to its dead end.
There were two bids opened with Robertson Paving the second bid. It came in at $1.768 million, which led commissioner Tim Williams to wonder out loud if the two companies were bidding on the same job due to the difference of more than $500,000.
According to an INDOT publication, the Community Crossings Grant Program was put in place 2016. It was derived from part of the money the state realized with an increase in gas taxes implemented that year and subsequent years.
“Community Crossings Matching Grant Program provides funding to cities, towns, and counties across Indiana to make improvements to local roads and bridges,” according to the document.
“Community Crossings is a partnership between INDOT and Hoosier communities, both urban and rural, to invest in infrastructure projects that catalyze economic development, create jobs, and strengthen local transportation networks,” the document continued.
Commissioners also awarded the quote for changing the controls on the courthouse’s HVAC. Commissioners had contemplated completely replacing the system but when the price tag came in at $711,000, the commissioners decided on a stop-gap measure. Instead of a complete HVAC replacement, the commissioners decided to replace the controllers on the present HVAC system. This should last at least five years, commissioners have been told.
There were two companies offering quotes. Culy Mechanical Electrical LLC was awarded the job with a quote of $58,000. North Mechanical came in at $80,426. Culy was the company, which installed the system.
Commissioners also signed a maintenance agreement with Culy for $4,798.20.
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