An Indianapolis-based environmental company will continue to assist the city with operating and maintaining the local waste water treatment plant.
On Wednesday, the Board of Public Works and Safety approved an amended agreement with Astbury Water Technology Inc. to continue providing its services at the contracted amount of $5,654 a month.
Astbury has been working with the city since 2016 when it was hired to help tackle a problem of excessive amounts of copper being discharged from the plant into Sugar Creek.
The amended agreement between the city and Astbury extends through October 2023. However, the city can terminate the contract at any time.
The board also approved an agreement between the city and developers of Diamond Ridge subdivision, which is located off Traction Road on the city’s east side.
In essence, developers have deposited $74,475 into city coffers to ensure that final paving and landscaping will be completed.
“We don’t want them to put the final coat of pavement on until the construction is done,” said Brandy Allen, city plan director. “So, this (agreement) basically allows us to hold the funding to do that until the construction is completed and then if they don’t do it, we can.”
The agreement also includes a landscape buffer as part of this phase. “They haven’t been able to acquire the trees yet because the nursery wouldn’t dig them until it cooled down enough,” Allen said. “And so, this also allows funding for that. They’ll provide us with the funding and then we’ll return it when it’s installed. If they don’t do it, then we have the funds to.”
In other business, the board:
• Opened a sealed bid from Waste Management for solid waste disposal. Its bid was for $54.50 per ton in 2020; $56.14 per ton in 2021; $57.82 per ton in 2022; and $59.55 per ton in 2023. The board took the bid under advisement.
• Learned street crews have started operating the three leaf vacuums and will continue to work from the city’s northwest side in a clockwise direction.
