By David Fenker
david@nmpaper.com
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The North Manchester Public Safety Building will soon receive new LED lighting.
The nearly-$17,000 project was approved at the May 3 meeting of the North Manchester Town Council.
“This is a 24/7 building, so it does have a lot of electrical usage with the lighting. We had obtained some different options for replacing the lighting, and the one that we have in front of you is from Riverbridge Electric to replace and go to LED lighting. The cost that they presented this time is probably the lowest they’ve come up with over the years,” Town Manager Adam Penrod said.
The total cost to replace 410 light bulbs and various fixtures will be $16,770.20.
“There’s plenty of bay lights in there, and they’re 450 watts each. The new LED lights are only 97 watts each, so that saves a lot of money just in that one thing,” North Manchester Police Chief Jim Kirk said.
Penrod said that the energy savings will let the lights mostly pay for themselves within two years.
Additionally, a bid for asphalt from Gaunt and Son Asphalt, Inc. was opened and approved, contingent on review by Penrod and Street Superintendent Wayne Stephan.
The company bid at $61.25 per ton for 500 tons of 12.5mm Type A Intermediate, $64.60 per ton for 1,000 tons of 9.5mm Type A Surface and $3.25 per gallon for 500 gallons of Tack Coat. No other companies submitted bids.
The materials will be used for various projects during the 2017 paving season.
The council also approved the second and third readings of General Ordinance No. 1, 2017, which changes the zoning of the property located at 216 E. Old Wabash Road from LI, Limited Industrial, to RE, Residential Estate. The ordinance was recommended by the Plan Commission so that the owners may build a house on the property.
Additionally, the council approved the second reading of General Ordinance No. 2, 2017, which establishes a $100 petty cash fund for each town department. Clerk-Treasurer Carrie Mugford presented the ordinance at the council’s April meeting intending to give town departments more spending cash each month, as the current $50 per month limit does not provide enough for larger purchases.
“I think that it’s wise to go ahead and wait, because it’s a monetary issue, until next month to pass it on the third reading,” Smith said.
Additional news from the council included the approval of the closure of the Eel River Gardens parking lot, located west of Town Hall on Main Street, for Manchester Main Street’ Eel River Arts Festival on Saturday, Sept. 9.
“In previous years, they’ve had permission to use that parking lot, and I would recommend that be allowed,” Penrod said.
Smith noted that the request was to close the lot from 12 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8 until the end of the day Saturday, Sept. 9.
Tax abatements for three local businesses were also reapproved by the council.
HF Group, OJI Intertech and Shepherd’s Family Auto Group all received reapproval for 10-year tax abatements previously granted by the council.