Hillsboro council approves Ash Street project change

The Hillsboro City Council formally approved at its July 6 meeting a mid-stream change in the renovation design for North Ash Street.

As discussed at its June 29 work session, the council approved a change order that would remove all of the old concrete in the three-block area and replace it with new concrete.

The original plan called for replacing only the worst of the old concrete with new, and then applying an asphalt overlay over the remaining sections of old concrete.

But a federal inspector on the scene late last month questioned the durability of applying the overlay on old concrete, according to City Administrator Larry Paine.

The inspector recommended that all of the old concrete be removed and then replaced either with full-depth concrete or full-depth asphalt.

The switch in plans will cost the city an additional $125,000 and will extend the project deadline for the contractor, APAC-Kansas, by 20 working days, according to Paine.

?Depending on weather, I think the project will be complete in three weeks,? he said. ?APAC wants the demolition of the existing concrete completed this week (ending July 9). The base will be replaced, then concrete will be started from Third Street.?

The project, as originally designed, was to have been paid for largely with stimulus funds via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The additional $125,000 for an all-concrete repair will be funded by the city through a temporary note that will be rolled over in 2011 into a larger general obligation bond for street improvements.

CIS clarification

Linda Ogden, executive director of Communities In Schools, attended the July 6 meeting to clarify her request for city funding at the council?s May 25 meeting.

Ogden said, contrary to the impression she apparently created, she was not soliciting a donation to the Marion County Family Financial Assistance Fund, which she administers without compensation as part of her broader CIS assignment.

The MCFFAF helps pay basic living expenses when families are in financial crisis, and is funded only by private donations.

?I do not ask for government money for that fund,? she said.

Instead, Ogden said her request was for a contribution to help underwrite the administrative costs of the broader CIS program, which includes after-school programs for students.

She said the public exposure the MCFFAF received from newspaper reports generated private donations of about $500.

Mayor Delores Dalke thanked Ogden for the clarification, but the council did not discuss the matter further.

Other business

In other business, the council:

? approved a cereal malt beverage license for Trail Lanes Bowling Alley. New owners Curtis and Christie McBride also owner bowling alleys in Peabody and Herington.

? heard a favorable 2009 audit report from Scot Loyd, representing the firm of Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk & Loyd, LLC.

The only ?significant deficiency? he noted was that the city should ensure that more than one person is involved in city financial transactions.

He also repeated a past encouragement that the city develop a written agreement with the Hillsboro Golf Association regarding obligations and responsibilities.

? heard that infrastructure work in the new Hillsboro Business Park would begin around Aug. 2, or even a week earlier. Vogts Parga Construc?tion from North Newton will put in Phase 1 street, drainage, sanitary sewer and water-line improvements.

? authorized payment of $356 to William Morris Associates of Augusta by Hillsboro Museums for work done on the Bartel House project.

? heard resident Raymond Matz, 810 W. Grand, ask the city to clean out a drainage system that has filled in with dirt over the years. He said property he owns behind his house has been flooding after significant rains.

Paine later acknowledged his awareness of the problem and said the fix has been delayed by other projects.

? authorized the placement of a stop sign at the corner of Orchard Drive and Elm Street in Hillsboro Heights to accommodate traffic at the new Carquest store now under construction.

? set 4 p.m. Aug. 3 as the time for a public hearing on the proposed 2011 city budget. It will be in the council meeting room at city hall.

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