Clermont to Add Sidewalks

(posted Aug 10)

Sidewalks with curb cuts will be installed along the east side of Tansel Road from the Lions Club to Kathleen Ave and to 30th Street without cuts.

The Clermont Town Council awarded Williams Brothers the bid of $15,430.80 as a two part job project, despite the town attorney's objection to their action at the August 9 meeting. Attorney Robert Lutz advised the council that the quotes were based on installing sidewalks as three job areas that included Tansel Road north of US 136. Lutz thought the amount could change once the contractor realized the job now excludes Tansel Road north of Crawfordsville Road. The contractor is no longer working on economies of scale and the price could change. Because there is not clear direction of how the bids went out, Lutz said he cannot be sure how the contractors computed the costs to do the job.

"That is part of the problem, we don't know how the bid specifications went out," Lutz said.
The council defied Lutz's advice. They thought by making a cap on the $15,430.80 the worst that could happen would be the contractor would refuse the job. Lutz warned that if the state auditor finds a problem, he could order the individual board members to personally repay the town.

For the third time, council members rejected Councilman Walt Miller's proposal to install sidewalks on Tansel Road north of US 136. The motion died for a lack of second again as did it in the July council meeting. Miller's action to revive the project shocked the residents because they remembered its death knelt blow at the last two meetings.

The project was included in with the other sidewalk project as one of the three areas. This raised an outcry with Leonard Bateson who did not want the side walk installed in front of his house at 3625 Tansel Road. He claimed the poor drainage would only destroy the sidewalk because of the water would raise the sidewalk with its freezing and thawing cycle, thus wasting money.

"It is wrong of him (Walt Miller) to shove this down our throats when we need drainage fixed instead," Bateson said.

Earl and Delores Rouille, at 3635 Tansel Road, disliked the idea of having a new sidewalk in front of his house.

Miller said he had over 100 signature petition north of the area supporting sidewalks.

Linda Lucas responded and asked to see it.

"We don't have to recognize it," Councilor Vonda Kiger said.

Donna Hattenbach said "Beef up the patrol and forget the sidewalks because it just gives the burglars something to run on to get away." Hattenbach's comment was in reference to her request to increase police patrolling since two homes on 30th Street have been burglarized.

Hattenbach still complained to the town she does not see patrolling from 11pm to 7 am during her time to watch as part of a neighborhood crime watch. She said she stays up until 6 am. She said she finally purchased an alarm system because staying up made it difficult to get to work.

The council also agreed 4-0 to pay $40,000 to Wayne Township for the first six months for fire service protection instead of the $140,000. The council took a roll call vote. Walt Miller left before the vote.

Like other local governments, the town has not received its revenue distributions and could not pay the first $140,000 of the $280,000 fire contract. The town's tax rate is .4568 per $100 assessed valuation and Wayne Township's tax rate is .614 per $100 assessed valuation.

Wayne Township Assessor Mike McCormack said although taxpayers are paying the 2006 level they will receive a reconciliation bill in April 30, 2008 to make up for the difference they should have paid in 2007. Based on the last meeting he had with the Department of Local Government Finance, the reassessment has to be completed by February 1, 2008 so the reconciliation bills, based on the new assessments, can be approved by February 28.