Lapel identifies roads in need of repair

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LAPEL — The Lapel Town Council met in special session Wednesday, Jan. 3, to identify the town streets to be repaired this coming spring.

Town officials discussed the condition of roads with representative of RQAW, a consulting and engineering firm that studied town roads and presented a report on their condition.

The town has up to $351,357 of state grant funds to spend on road repairs this year. The money must be spent on roads listed on grant documents when they were prepared.

That means some roads currently in a bad shape will not get repaired as part of this first wave of road work, town leaders said, but the hope is to repair such roads using future grant money.

After lengthy discussion, the following roads were singled out for work: County Road 500 South, Fifth Street in town and the Cascadden Addition, Vine Street, Ninth Street, 10th Street and Eerie Street.

The cost to repair and resurface these streets is estimated at $260,000.

Town officials, at the suggestion of RQAW, might use some of the additional funds to repair sidewalks and curb ramps along the same roadways, which is allowed under the grant.

During the next few weeks, the town plans to advertise the projects and receive and review bids so that work can begin in early spring.

In other infrastructure news, council members discussed drainage issues at Bulldog Park.

After Clerk-Treasurer Paula Lee said the park fund likely had enough money to pay for fixing the problems, the council agreed the park department should do so.

The council also briefly discussed the 2018 salary ordinance, and opted to make no changes in pay.

Michael Cates, board president, also suggested hiring part-time office help to have someone learn the duties Lee handles.

Cates said he believes they needed the extra coverage when Lee is out of the office or if, at some point, she decides to retire.

He said he think it could take years to train someone to fill such an important role and it would be smart for the town to be prepared.

Cates also suggested the town consider hiring more utility employees, but there was no mention of if or when that could happen.

The council did move to approve the purchase of a new Ford Explorer for the police department at a cost not to exceed $26,000 for the vehicle. Additional costs may be necessary to outfit the SUV with decals, lights and other police equipment.

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