MEDORA
Four bids were submitted for a paving project this year in Medora.
When the sealed envelopes were opened during a recent town council meeting, Dave O’Mara Contractor Inc. of North Vernon came in with the lowest base bid at $168,228.46.
The others were $190,869.09 by All-Star Paving Inc. of Seymour, $223,029.05 by Robertson Paving of Flat Rock and $231,855.50 by Temple and Temple Excavating and Paving Inc. of Salem.
Midwestern Engineers Inc. of Loogootee will review the paperwork and ensure everything is in order and the bids are good. The town council had the option of approving the bids contingent upon an engineer’s review or tabling it until the review is completed.
"I myself personally would rather table it until you get the review done," council President Jerry Ault said with fellow council members Jim Davers and Rhonda Freeman agreeing.
A special meeting will have to be conducted to consider approval of the bid award because the deadline to submit paperwork to the Indiana Department of Transportation is April 8, which is four days before the council’s next meeting.
A positive is all four bids came in lower than the engineer’s estimate.
The project will be covered by Medora learning in December 2020 it will receive funds totaling $179,316.73 through the Community Crossings Matching Grant program, a component of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Next Level Roads program. The town will have to provide a 25% match.
Jon Craig, business development manager for Midwestern Engineers, helped the town apply for the grant. He said Medora was awarded the full amount for which it applied.
This spring or summer, some of the streets will get repaved, while others will have the sidewalk milled and slip plates installed to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Ault said.
The work will include:
- West Riley Street from North George Street to North Jackson Street
- West Riley Street from South Jackson Street to South Elm Street
- South Elm Street from West Main Street to West Riley Street
- South Elm Street from West Riley Street to West Scott Street
- West Scott Street from South Elm Street to North Jackson Street
- North George Street from West Main Street to West Adam Street
- North George Street from West Adam Street to West First Street
- South David Street from East Riley Street (railroad) to East Washington Street
- West First Street from North Perry Street to North George Street
- West First Street from North George Street to North Jackson Street
- South Perry Street from Washington Street to dead end
- West Adam Street from North Perry Street to North George Street
- East Adam Street from North Perry Street to North David Street
- East Scott Street from South Perry Street to South David Street
- East Scott Street from South David Street to South Mill Street
- North Elm Street from West Central Street to North Jackson Street
This was Medora’s second time applying for and receiving CCMG funding.
In 2019, the town received $156,918.75, which allowed for milling and paving of portions of Main and George streets and finishing out a sidewalk near the senior citizens center.
The project included milling and overlaying Main Street from its eastern boundary at David Street to George Street. That skipped over State Road 235 (Perry Street) because the state is responsible for that work and then headed south on George Street one block to Riley Street. The project improved drainage, too.
Community Crossings was created by the Indiana General Assembly in 2016 and is funded by the state.
To qualify for funding, local governments must provide local matching funds — 50% for larger communities or 25% for smaller communities — from a funding source approved for road and bridge construction. They also must submit an INDOT-approved asset management plan for maintaining existing roads and bridges.
State law requires 50% of the available matching funds be awarded to communities within counties with a population of 50,000 or fewer.
Since its inception, the initiative has provided more than $830 million in state matching funds for construction projects.
Typically, there are two calls for projects each year — one in January and one in July.
In response to revenue uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, INDOT moved this year’s second call to September.
For the most recent round, Medora was among 241 Indiana cities, towns and counties receiving a combined $101 million in state matching funds.
That’s funded by the balance available in the state’s local road and bridge matching grant fund at the end of the 2020 fiscal year and revenue collected so far in the 2021 fiscal year.