Pulaski County has picked a paving contractor for several miles of potential road projects. The county commissioners Monday agreed to hire Town & Country Paving for hot mix asphalt work on County Road 550 South west of State Road 39 and County Road 600 South from State Road 119 to Base Road. Town & Country submitted the lowest of three bids, at just under $1.18 million.
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A couple roads in southern Pulaski County may soon be getting upgrades, as part of a potential Community Crossings project. The county received three bids for hot mix asphalt work on County Road 550 South west of State Road 39 and County Road 600 South from State Road 119 to Base Road. The total costs ranged from under $1.18 million to almost $1.33 million.
Confusion remains over how much money new Pulaski County Highway Department employees are supposed to make. Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff brought the question to the county council Monday. “We hired two new guys,” he explained. “What’s the deal on their pay? What do I tell them they’re getting paid right now? I don’t know if it’s $13.77. Is it for six months, a year? What are we doing?”
The Pulaski County Highway Department is seeking bids for paving work, as well as a new dump truck. Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff told the county commissioners last week that he wants to have cost estimates ready for the next round of Community Crossings grants. The state program covers up to 75 percent of the cost of qualifying road work.
Pulaski County is getting rid of some unused equipment. Last week, the county commissioners agreed to let Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff sell two Unimog utility vehicles at auction on December 8.
The Pulaski County Highway Department is looking into partnering with WorkOne to get some free labor. As part of a job training program, participants would have the chance to learn skills by working with the Highway Department for a certain period of time, while WorkOne would pay their wages and assume any liability. Similar partnerships have already been put in place with the county’s Maintenance Department, as well as the Starke County Highway Department.
The Pulaski County Highway Department apparently won’t be applying for Community Crossings funds this month.
The Pulaski County Highway Department is making progress on its summer street projects. Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff gave an update to the county commissioners last week. “Gary’s been working on the roads like mad, I guess,” he said. “They got 20 miles of blade mix done. They started sealing today.”
The Pulaski County Commissioners have decided to check and see if the county is eligible for fuel tax reimbursements. Last week, the commissioners conditionally agreed to hire consulting firm Malcon to help with the process.
Pulaski County will not be charging its residents a wheel tax in the near future. The issue was discussed during last week’s joint county council and commissioners meeting, after the Bureau of Motor Vehicles asked for an update.
Confusion about checks paid to two Pulaski County Highway Department employees led to a heated debate during last week’s county council meeting. The first had to do with $2,500 paid to Secretary Jessica Rausch for her duties as asset management coordinator. Last month, council members agreed to transfer that amount into the department’s asset management services line item. Auditor Laura Wheeler then apparently paid the money to Rausch as part of her paycheck. She asked council members last week to adjust the salary ordinance accordingly.
Pulaski County officials say they won’t be covering the repair bill for an underground cable damaged by the County Highway Department. Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff asked the county commissioners Monday how he should handle a $1,047 repair bill from CenturyLink.
More than $1.4 million in additional appropriations that were requested back in February were finally approved by the Pulaski County Council this week. The bulk of that was to allow the County Highway Department to spend Community Crossings grant funds on bridge and paving projects. Continue reading
The Pulaski County Council is making funding arrangements to keep airport upgrades on track. Aviation Board President Jim McDaniel says Arens Field is in the process of getting more than $200,000 worth of improvements, “A new parking lot out front, more security across the fuel farm, working closer towards, someday, they’re going to request that we fence the whole place, but there’ll be a gate.”
Making sure the Pulaski County Highway Department will be able to update its asset management plan and continue to qualify for Community Crossings grants was the goal of a lengthy conversation during Monday’s county council meeting. The highway department’s $2,500 budget for asset management services was apparently cut out of this year’s budget. To resolve the issue, Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff asked council members to transfer $10,000 into the line item from his department’s salt budget.
The Pulaski County Highway Department is looking to hire an outside company to put together its asset management plan. The work was previously done by the Highway Department’s secretary, but the extra $2,500 she received for those duties was apparently cut from the department’s budget.
Pulaski County’s bridge inspection costs are going up. Last week, Jeff Larrison with United Consulting presented the county commissioners with a draft agreement for the 2018-through-2021 bridge inspection cycle.
A couple big-ticket equipment purchases were approved by the county commissioners Monday. The Pulaski County Transfer Station is getting a new truck with roll-off hoist.
The speed limit on Pulaski County Road 1550 West has officially been lowered to 30 miles per hour in the Medaryville area, following action by the county council and commissioners Monday.
Whether Pulaski Memorial Hospital will get almost $800,000 for its new MRI building from the county’s Cumulative Building Fund will be up for discussion during tonight’s county council meeting. Under the proposal, that money would be given to the hospital in 17 installments between now and 2027.
