The City of Noblesville has decided to contract service to improve the look of its roadways.
“We went through the budget cycle and some key roads and gateways needed to be maintained a little better. We were doing everything we could to keep up with it,” Deputy Mayor Michael Hendricks said.
This is the first time the city has had to go outside of its departments and Hendricks said $90,000 was budgeted for the project. However, Brickman Group of Indianapolis was the only bidder for $138,919. The business also provides services to the City of Westfield and Community North Hospital.
Hendricks said the city looked at doing the work internally.
“I asked Patty (Johnson, street department director) what it would be if we did it. Mulch alone and time to spread it would cost $134,380 with addition maintenance costs being $38,000. It’s higher than the cost to do the contract and it frees all these employees up,” he said.
Hendricks said County Option Income Tax funds will be used for the additional cost of $48,919.76 for the landscaping and the city’s street department will manage the contract.
Projects include: Union Chapel Road-166th Street, Union Chapel Road-Ind. 32/Ind. 38, Olio Road and Tegler Drive roundabout, Little Chicago/Hazel Dell roads, Hazel Dell Road-Edenshall Lane tunnel crossing, Little Chicago Road-191st Street roundabout, 146th Street and I-69, 146th Street and Hazel Dell Road, Riverwalk, South Allisonville Road and downtown parking lots.
Not included in the contract is the mulch and maintenance of city hall and the 196th Street-Hague Road roundabout. Hendricks said this will be a separate contracted service as the landscape around city hall needs to be redeveloped due to sandy soil and a sprinkler system that is not adequate for the plants and flowers.
“They (Brickman Group) remove, we have a lot of new coming in,” he said, adding that the project is having its drawings finalized and work at city hall will take place in the summer and the roundabout in the fall.
Jets in the water feature were damaged during the winter and Hendricks said they would have to be redone. However, Councilor Steve Wood said the water feature is more trouble than its worth and the city has had recent issues of vandalism from soap and bubbles being thrown into it.
“It’s better to turn it into a big flower pot instead of keep throwing money into it,” he said.
