LAPEL — The first item on the contractor’s list for the town’s $4-plus million water project — storage tank improvement — is slated to begin in early April, with a tentative date of April 4.

Sean Wolf of Commonwealth Engineering, the town’s consulting firm on the project, presented an update at the Lapel Town Council meeting on Thursday, March 17, virtually at the Lapel Fraternal Order of Eagles building.

Wolf said Thieneman Construction, the contractor for the well and water treatment and storage facilities portion (Division A) of the project, will provide revised preliminary schedule, to let the town know where they are and what items they are going to start focusing on.

Wolf said Thieneman has been in contact with Lapel’s utility department to help coordinate the work.

Work on installing the tank mixer is next on the to-do list.

The water distribution improvement part of the project, referred to as Division B, is being done by Atlas Excavating.

The first construction progress meeting took place with Atlas the week of March 14. The meeting included members of the town council and other town employees. Wolf said Atlas’s plan is to finish work on Pendleton Avenue on or before mid-June. Pipe has began being delivered to the project.

The distribution system side includes installation of new water mains at various locations through town. Wolf added that the Indiana Department of Transportation has increased its meetings to make sure things are coordinated and on schedule.

Two pay applications were approved by council and signed by president Teresa Retherford.

An application for Division A was for $81,624. The second application, for Division B, was for $1,900.

Lapel has dealt with many problems with its water systems in past years. It failed several times to receive grant funding through Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

Council members worked with Commonwealth, revamped the project, and received an OCRA grant in December 2020. They received additional funding for the project through the Indiana Finance Authority’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) and other sources.

Commonwealth presented bids for the project last September and, and by the end of 2021 construction bids were accepted for Thieneman and Atlas.

Resolution passed

The council approved unanimously a resolution to let utility workers take work vehicles home with them when they are on-call for after-hours utility outages and other emergencies.

Road closing for Beerfest

Jason Watson of Pax Verum Brewing Co., 908 Main St., received permission from the council for closing Main Street and part of Ninth Street for the business’s second annual beerfest.

Way Out Beer Fest 2022 is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 20.

Jobs available

The town announced it is looking for a Code Enforcement Officer as well as multiple employees in the utility department.

The code enforcer position’s essential duties include performing regular and random field inspections to ensure compliance with municipal codes and ordinances; notifying property owners of violations and communicate the compliance process; and receiving complaints or concerns provided by employees, residents or others regarding code and ordinance violations, and investigation of the complaints to determine if a violation exists.

Along with that position, the town’s utility department is hiring full-time employees.

The work for those jobs include street and sidewalk maintenance, natural gas, water and sewer utility maintenance, and grounds maintenance.

For more details on the job openings and to pick up applications, people can visit Lapel Town Hall from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.