Star Hill Road in Clark County gets funding

Clark County

Discussion

May 29, 2009

BY BRADEN LAMMERS The News and Tribune Fri May 29, 2009, 11:38 AM EDT

Like most people and corporations during a sluggish economy, the Clark County Commissioners are trying to watch every dollar they spend.

Keeping a close eye on county funds sparked a long debate at Thursday’s commissioners meeting, but money for a new road in Clark County was approved.

Commissioner Mike Moore made a motion to set aside $1 million in an interest bearing account for the Star Hill Road project.

“I’d like to make a motion that we make this our top priority to put that funding into an account specifically to be used for Star Hill Road,” Moore said. “I think this could be a large step to the state for them to see. The funding is there, the land is going to be dedicated to the county for this road,” he said.

The proposed road will run 2.2 miles from the intersection of St. John’s and Rake roads in Starlight and proceed north to Ind. 60, just east of Borden.

The proposal was met with a long dialogue about how much money should be allocated to the proposal. The other two board members were hesitant to place the full $1 million in an account, in case it was needed for other road projects.

“We’ve been struggling for years to try and come up with our portion [for Star Hill Road]. Our portion is here now, let’s set it aside,” Moore said. “We are not spending the money tonight. It is a symbolic gesture to the state.”

The money for phase one and two of the project as tentatively planned will come from the county’s share of Major Moves money. Those funds have been allocated in Indiana for upgrading roads, following the lease of the Northern Indiana Toll Road to a private consortium.

Federal project funding, through the state, provides for 80 percent of the actual construction costs, with the remaining 20 percent to be supplied by the county, according to Ed Meyer, president of the commissioners.

“All I’m asking us to do is move [the money] from one account to another,” Moore said.

Clark County Council President David Abbott passed out a letter during the meeting in support of the project. The total estimated cost for phase one and two — construction will take place in three phases — is $11.8 million, according to the board.

The board settled on putting $900,000 aside for the Star Hill Road project, with additional discussion, details and approval to be determined later.

The motion passed 2-1, with Meyer opposing. Meyer was in favor of allocating $500,000 for the project and reserving the remainder for other road projects.

In other business

• A discussion continued on repairing a road at Lakeside at the Summit, where a hill is sliding. The board received proposals on fixing the road, which is slowly eroding, to build an engineering support to reinforce the hill.

The road, in Borden, is part of a planned-unit development that was paved by the county because it was considered a public safety concern, according to Meyer.

The conflict for the board repairing the road is most planned-unit development roads are private and should not encompass county funding. Another engineering survey has been requested by the board before it proceeds with repairs.

• Chris Broughton & Associates presented a proposal to reduce information technology costs for the county. Services will include writing a technical plan, risk management and project management.

Broughton will present his proposal to the Clark County Council and meet with Matt Dyer, systems administration for Clark County.

• Matt Dyer, systems administration for Clark County made a recommendation for a position in the county’s information technology department. No decision was made on approving the proposed candidate.