Celina councilors fast-track action on critical repairs

CELINA - City councilors on Monday night acted on a pair of ordinances that would authorize the appropriation of nearly $370,000 for multiple critical projects, including water line replacements, elevator repairs and new flooring for the police department.

Councilors at their regular meeting passed to second reading legislation that would appropriate $297,409.16 for water line replacements ahead of next year's full reconstruction of Sugar Street.

The funds would also pay for an elevator upgrade at the 1974 water department building, the replacement of a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) panel at a city water tower, and the upgrade and replacement of security cameras at multiple locations.

City crews plan to replace water lines under Beaver Street from Mill Street to Sugar Street, Washington Street from Mill Street to Sugar Street and Blake Street from Mill Street to Sugar Street.

The estimated cost for water main piping, fittings, valves, service taps, meter pits, bedding stone, back-fill stone and asphalt repairs is $95,000, which will be appropriated from the water distribution lines/pipe capital account.

The savings from completing the work in-house, rather than contracting it out, could be "substantive," Celina Mayor Jeff Hazel said.

"If we can do these small elements ourself, which we can, then we're not looking at doing prevailing wage and having to rebid out because those prices are just about supplying the materials," Hazel said after the meeting.

City officials next year plan to undertake the full reconstruction of Sugar Street, which runs parallel to Mill Street. Shinn Brothers Inc. has already started work on the $3.69 million full reconstruction of Mill Street, a project that is expected to run through November.

"The guys would like to try to do these three roads in-house, have our own crews do them, and then that gives us a year for those roads to settle," city safety service director Tom Hitchcock told councilors.

Also, $144,000 would be appropriated from the water plant buildings/grounds capital account to remove and replace the elevator controller, hydraulic pump, car controls and electrical systems in the water department building. The elevator is used to move supplies and equipment up and down two floors, Hazel said.

"I think it went out within the last couple of weeks," he said.

The ordinance would appropriate $30,377.16 from the water plant operating supplies/expenses account for the replacement of water tower SCADA control panels and communication upgrades. SCADA provides monitoring capabilities via computers and phones.

"We had transferred that panel from the old East Jeff(erson) tower, and it finally fried, and so it's updating that, and of course, it's got to integrate with the rest of the SCADA system down there," Hazel said.

Security cameras at multiple locations, including the lighthouse, water treatment plant and water towers need upgraded and/or replaced at an estimated cost of $28,032. Those funds would come from the water plant operating supplies/expenses account.

"They've been having all kinds of issues right now with the security cameras. They go down, they go out," Hitchcock pointed out. "They're looking to get a new DVR because the court system's also on their camera system down there, so they want to get those two separated. That's all part of that."

Moving onto the second piece of legislation, councilors suspended the rules requiring three public readings and passed as an emergency measure an ordinance appropriating a total of $65,282 to make repairs to the elevator in the city administration building and replace flooring in the city police department.

The elevator repairs are estimated at $48,928, which will be appropriated from multiple accounts. The contract would entail the removal and disposal of the leaking underground hydraulic cylinder and piston, installation of a new double-bottom cylinder with safety bulkhead and all necessary materials and labor.

"Those were catastrophic failures," Hazel said about the two elevators. "Here, of course, we have the passenger elevator (in the city administration building), so we're having to accommodate during the tax season, because that was a very expensive cylinder that cracked that has to be specifically machined."

Hazel said a firm will have to custom-fabricate a piston.

"I will also let you know … upfront, because of the long lead time, a purchase order was at least given to the contractor to start making this, so we do need to go ahead and fulfill the back end of this. It is an emergency, definitely," Hazel said about the need for councilors to fast-track the ordinance.

The flooring project for the police department is pegged at $16,354. The contract involves the removal of existing carpet and the installation of vinyl tile plank flooring.

"The flooring within the police department, that probably gets the most difficult wear, and they've got a lot trip hazards in there and they keep trimming back on carpets," Hazel said. "In addition, we did move dispatch over finally last week, and so they are working in the police department right now."

The relocation of the dispatch center across Main Street from city hall to the city administration building was designed to streamline communication and meet the request of police officers, according to Hazel.

"I believe that they're all very pleased that they're in there, so at this point we do need to get this flooring taken care of, and it can be done while they work as we move things out and do that flooring, just like we've done the rest of the building," Hazel insisted. "It (new flooring) will eventually be throughout the whole building."