Council awards Mapleleaf contract; plans sidewalk work near Walmart

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Mt. Pleasant City Council members laid the concrete Wednesday for motorists and pedestrians traveling on the north side of the city.

Council members, during their regular meeting, approved awarding a $1,529,777 contract to Jones Contracting Co., of Houghton, for reconstruction of Mapleleaf Drive. The work, which will begin this spring, involves a makeover of the entire street from Lincoln to Iris streets.

Jones was one of four bidders on the project with the asking price ranging upward to $2,079,020.10. The city received a $944,000 grant for the project. City Administrator Brent Scheisman said the bid does not include all the work that must be done on Mapleleaf and estimated the cost of the total project at $2.4 million.

Pedestrians also will benefit from a new sidewalk planned for the east side of North Cherry Street from Mapleleaf Drive to Baker Street. The area is just south of the Walmart Supercenter and will enable pedestrians to walk on a sidewalk rather than the road when visiting Walmart.

?We?ve been looking at this and trying to do it for 10 years,? remarked Mayor Steve Brimhall.

Council members set a public hearing and awarding of the contract for the sidewalk for their regular meeting Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 5:30 p.m.

In another move to improve the traffic flow in the northern section of Mt. Pleasant, the city hired Warner Engineering for an engineering service agreement to conduct an evaluation on improving East Baker Street from Lincoln Street to Palm Avenue. The project also includes storm drainage, driveway and sidewalk improvements.

Warner Engineering will be paid $68,500 for the study.

Construction-related items dominated the meeting. The council accepted the $293,654 runway lighting project for the municipal airport. Existing runway lights were replaced by LED lighting. The city?s share of the cost was just 10 percent with the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) picking up the remaining 90 percent.

?It is another addition to the airport that makes it attractive for smaller airplanes,? noted Brimhall.

In yet another matter, the council approved allowing Phillips Auto at 200 S. Jefferson St., to build a 20x20 building on the back of its existing building for storage. City approval was needed because the site does not conform with current zoning but has been ?grandfathered? in.

The commercial business is located in an area zoned B-2 or a central business district.

Conditions of the agreement include that the automotive repair business does not perform vehicle body repair or painting; automotive parts and tired stored outside must be screened from public view; a perimeter fence may not be installed; vehicles awaiting repair may be stored in view of the public for a maximum of 60 business days; and except for the repairs for which vehicles stored outside are waiting, vehicles must be fully operable and road worthy, have current license and registration and fully inflated tires.

Approval of the building was recommended by the city?s ordinance committee.

The council also approved a 28E agreement with Henry County for street maintenance. Basically, the agreement outlines the responsibilities and costs that the city?s public works department and county engineer have as it pertains to the shared (common) roads that are in the corporate city limits.

?It (28E agreement) puts into writing what our practice has been in the past,? explained Schleisman.

Finally, the council passed the second reading, prohibiting parking on East Bluegrass Road, which is located just east of the CECO Manufacturing building.

Council members meet again in regular session on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 5:30 p.m., in the council chambers of City Hall.