LAPEL — Reaching the next phase in the town’s extensive water system repair project, Lapel has received bids for the work to be done on the estimated $4.7 million plan.
Sarah Wittig of Commonwealth Engineers Inc., the town’s consulting firm for the project, opened bids and revealed dollar amounts to the board from each vendor at the Thursday, Sept. 14, Lapel Town Council meeting at the Eagles building.
The project includes upgrades and other work to an existing water treatment plant, elevated storage tank and installation of new water mains at various locations in town.
The town received a $700,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and has also looked into additional funding through the Indiana Finance Authority’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) and the recently established State Water Infrastructure Fund (SWIF) grants.
The plan is broken down into two projects. Wittig announced bids for a Project A and Project B. There was only one bid for Project A, Thieneman Construction, from Westfield, put in a bid of $2,036,000.
Four organizations put in bids for Project B, including Atlas Excavating of West Lafayette ($2,372,611), Infrastructure Systems Inc. of Orleans, Indiana ($4,218,228), Miller Pipeline of Indianapolis ($2,787,249) and S.C. Case Excavating of Muncie ($2,462,635).
The council approved Wittig returning the bids to Commonwealth staff for review.
Bids are expected to be awarded in the next couple of weeks.
SMCF award
The town’s yearly award from the South Madison Community Foundation will go to a program at Lapel Middle School.
The council receives a yearly amount from the foundation which it awards to one of the Lapel schools or to one of the school’s organizations.
The town received $1,104 this year and donated it to Lapel Middle Schools for its Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program.
The program is designed to motivate students to grow as positive citizens of the school and community.
The specific program the funds will go toward is called DOGS, an acronym for Dedicated, Organized, Goal-Oriented and Supportive.
Within each category students are taught characteristics they can exemplify to be good and productive citizens. As motivation, according to LMS principal Chad Kemerly, the program sponsors provide prizes throughout the year for students who are doing well.
ARPA Fund
The council appropriated funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to pay its full-time employees for working through the bulk of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following a public hearing for the appropriation, the council voted to approve $48,729 for employees.
Budget approved
The council adopted its 2022 budget for $811,926, with an adopted tax levy of $481,922 at a rate of .7966.
