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REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 14, 2009
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<br />for capital, and the Mayor requested that we set those resources aside for reinvestment in
<br />City equipment, facilities and infrastructure. He stated that Engineering improvements
<br />account for the largest portion, 19 percent, of the $9,898,803 in expenditures, followed by
<br />investments in the Fire and Police Departments, about 12 percent each respectively. He
<br />stated that the largest single engineering project, $635,000, will widen an improve Cotter
<br />Street from Prairie Avenue to Kendall Street to serve Ignition Park. It is being paid
<br />primarily by primarily by federal dollars and the project will be let by Indiana
<br />Department of Transportation. Traffic signals will be modernized along Mishawaka
<br />Avenue and Western Avenue with the City’s twenty percent (20%) share supporting a
<br />federal investment of $1.6 million. The Northside Trail will be extended from Indiana
<br />University South Bend to connect with the western terminus of Mishawka’s Riverwalk.
<br />Federal aid will cover $1.5 million of the project. Next year will see the first of three
<br />years’ worth of improvements to Ewing Avenue from Meade Street to Michigan Street.
<br />The annual project cost of $4 million is supplemented by $600,000 from the City to
<br />complete design work. On the west side, the intersection of Western Avenue and Olive
<br />Street will be improved with the addition of a protected turn lane as part of a $400,000
<br />project. The city’s GIS system also will receive a $100,000 investment for maintenance
<br />and upgrades. The Street Department also requested a capital allocation of $890,050 -
<br />$300,000 devoted to concrete repairs and the balance for replacement or maintenance of
<br />equipment. The Fire Department’s largest single expenditure is $181,164 over five years
<br />to purchase a new quintuple combination pumper to replace a 1986 unit. The “quint”
<br />serves the dual purpose of an engine and a ladder truck, providing five functions: pump,
<br />water tank, fire hose, aerial device and ground ladders. Fire also has requested: $125,000
<br />for renovation and expansion of Fire Station No. 5, 2221 Prairie Avenue, the city’s
<br />second oldest fire station, built in 1954. An additional $100,000 is allocated for
<br />maintenance at all of the City’s 11 fire stations. $124,000 for a new firefighter escape
<br />system, life safety equipment that has not been provided by grants, $140,756 for the first
<br />of two years toward purchasing a new rescue and ambulance unit, and $375,000 for a
<br />new pumper to replace a 1991 pumper which in turn, would replace a 1973 reserve
<br />pumper. The Police Department will continue scheduled replacement of 35 patrol cars in
<br />2010 at a cost of $770,000 including five hybrid cars for use by administrators or
<br />detectives. It also will spend $50,000 to replace Tasers and $8,000 to replace radios.
<br />The Parks and Recreation Department has the largest number from any department with
<br />significant projects among its $1,385,540 in proposed expenditures for 2010 include
<br />$100,000 for renovation to the Newman Center and more than $150,000 in repair and
<br />maintenance work at other facilities, $75,000 to heat the conservatory, $60,000 in paving
<br />work at Potawatomi Zoo along with $76,500 to renovate exhibit space, $75,000 for new
<br />equipment at the O’Brien Fitness Center, $50,000 in upgrades to the Belleville Softball
<br />Complex. The capital expenditure budget also includes request for $410,000 for
<br />acquisition and demolition of eight public housing units in the Northeast Neighborhood
<br />in conjunction with the development of new housing in a triangle-shaped area north of
<br />Indiana 23 and Eddy Street, more than $663,000 in computer-related costs citywide,
<br />$200,000 to extend water mains throughout the city, $80,000 to pave the LaSalle Park
<br />Parking lot, $150,000 to fund operations for the City’s new Energy Office, which is
<br />projected to save the City more than $2 million annually through improved efficiency,
<br />$100,000 for maintenance of Century Center through the Professional Sports
<br />Development Tax. An additional $552,450 in capital expenses includes more than
<br />$200,000 to replace chairs and dollars and another $50,000 for exterior landscaping.
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<br />This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents
<br />and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard.
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<br />Councilmember Rouse stated that when you drive through the City the first thing you
<br />notice is how the streets have deteriorated. He stated that he is highly concerned with
<br />taxes going up that the quality of the streets is going down. He noted that the City should
<br />not build new buildings every year, but maintain the ones that are already built. He stated
<br />that streets and sewers are the main concern. He suggested spending Tax Incremental
<br />Financing monies along with Federal Dollars on Water Works and Waste Water
<br />Treatment Plant projects. He encouraged the administration to develop a strategic plan
<br />on the deteriorating infrastructure because the City needs to catch up.
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