City and county officials are moving forward with the extension of the Purple Heart Parkway from U.S. 231 to Ladoga Road.
On Wednesday, the Crawfordsville Board of Public Works and Safety approved a memorandum of understanding with the county that outlines the proposed project and preliminary costs.
The city and county will share the costs. The city will pay 41% and the county will pay 59%. The percentage share was determined by the amount of road that will be within city limits (2,700 feet) compared to the county (4,000 feet). The agreement includes a formula for the amount to be paid from the city to the county upon annexation of a portion of the new road. It also includes a time to bid the project by Dec. 12, 2023.
The city also entered into agreements with Lochmueller Group and RQAW Corp. for the project. The city agrees to pay up to $76,000 to Lochmueller for coordination, oversight and management of all infrastructure improvements, and up to $293,000 to RQAW for design and engineering.
Earlier this month the county approved similar agreements with the city, Lochmueller and RQAW.
The Purple Heart Parkway currently connects State Road 47 and U.S. 231.It opened in July 2017 and was jointly funded by the city, county and the Indiana Department of Transportation. It was designed to improve traffic flow and enhance safety, and due to its location in a high growth area, the parkway is meant to spur future development.
In other business, the board:
• Rescinded an unsafe building order at 35 Center Drive. The property owner has renovated the home and shown full compliance.
• Approved a request from Ben Morris of Ben There Antique Shop to block three parking spaces with a semi-trailer at 119 S. Washington St. for moving purposes. The board gave him the spaces for a week, beginning July 31 through Aug. 8. He hopes to have the move completed as early as possible.
• Approved a request from Amanda Ellenberger from The Vine Church, 1004 Wayne Ave., to host a fundraising 5K Walk on Aug. 27 along the neighborhood streets near the church.
• Approved a request to close the sidewalk at Fusion 54, 101 W. Main St., from Aug. 1 to Aug. 8 to replace the back entrance, sidewalk and curbs. The closure includes the area from the west edge of the building to the east entrance to the parking lot off of Main Street and south to include the back entrance to Fusion 54.
• Approved an agreement with RJL Solutions in the amount of $40,800 for marketing and branding. The funds will come from the Crawfordsville Square TIF district revenues.
• Approved work order requests from Barry Lewis, Code Enforcement Officer, for the following properties: 1418 Danville Ave., owned by Harold Leibenuth; 108 W. Franklin St., owned by Stephanie Pool; and 713 S. Washington St., owned by Daniel Kamin. Lewis told the board this is the second time this year the Pool and Kamin properties have been mowed by the city. The board stipulated that city employees working at the Pool property must be masked due to past issues with fumes.
• Approved the closure of East Pike Street from Vernon Court to Wallace Avenue for three to four hours today to allow city street department crews time to remove tree limbs in the 400 block of East Pike Street. The work would commence at 10 a.m., weather permitting. Monday was given as a rain date.
