Your gasoline tax dollars at work

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Mt. Pleasant is putting its gasoline tax revenue to work.

The city will receive approximately $150,000 annually in revenue from the one-cent increase in the gasoline tax and has pledged to use the funds to repair existing city streets.

Wednesday afternoon during their regular meeting, council members approved the first expenditure of tax proceeds for a total cost of nearly $75,000.

Cessford Construction of LeGrand received the contract on all three streets.

Streets and respective costs include: North Van Buren Street between Washington and Monroe streets, $33,785; South Adams Street between Clay and Warren streets, $14,065; and West Broad Street between Broadway and White streets, $27,100.

?Some soft spots may increase the cost (of the work),? noted City Administrator Bren Schleisman, ?but we won?t know until we mill it off. These streets have been on our five- and 10-year street improvement programs for a while. This is the beginning of what will be a longer list to come.?

Public Works Director Rick Mullin said work would start sometime in early June.

Council members approved a resolution authorizing the sale of two lots in the Crossroads Industrial Park on which the city?s spec building is located. The city purchased the 60 acres of land for the industrial park and the council must authorize the sale of any lots in the park.

In a related matter, the council also approved a 500-foot extension of the sanitary sewer line in the industrial park to serve the two lots approved for sale and a 10-acre vacant lot south of the two lots.

Warner Engineering Associates Inc. will handle the engineering for the extension at a cost of $8,500.

Sanitary sewer flow rates will also be increasing July 1. The council approved a 30-cent increase per 1,000 gallons used. The rate will increase by 30 cents per 1,000 gallons each year over a five-year period.

Revenue from the increase will be used to finance an estimated $7 million for Department of Natural Resources-mandated improvements to the wastewater treatment plant.

?Nobody likes this but we are extremely pleased with the numbers (Piper Jaffray) came up with,? said Mayor Steve Brimhall. ?Some communities are doubling and tripling their fees to make improvements to comply with the DNR regulations and we would rather do it a little at a time.?

The Central Park fountain will be headed to Alabama this fall for repairs and refurbishing. A $49,500 contract was approved with Robinson Iron Company of Alexander City, Ala., to do the work. Robinson manufactured the fountain, which was erected in 1988. The company will come to Mt. Pleasant, dismantle the fountain and transport it to company headquarters. Once the work is finished, Robinson will return the fountain and assemble it.

In other agenda items, the council:

? Passed the third reading and adopted an ordinance to rezone Arbor Village South from R-5 to R-3 (multiple family dwelling district).

? Passed the second reading of a proposed ordinance establishing no parking on the south side of Clay Street between Jackson and White streets.

? Passed the second reading of a proposed ordinance establishing no parking at the intersection of Clay and Main streets and Clay and Jefferson streets.

? Passed the first reading of a proposed ordinance establishing no parking on Savannah and Prairie streets (east of Hy-Vee).

? Set a public hearing for Wednesday, May 27, at 5:30 p.m. for a public hearing on an amendment to the fiscal 2015 city budget.

Council members meet again in regular session Wednesday, May 27, at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall.