Dowagiac City Council this week awarded a $113,500 contract to Seven Brothers Painting Inc. of Shelby Township for repainting and repairs to the 150,000-gallon elevated Rudolphi water tower on Riverside Drive.

Council also awarded a $13,781 contract to Dixon Engineering of Lake Odessa for project administration, a pre-construction meeting, surface preparation and paint inspection services.

A budget amendment will be drafted using cash reserves set aside each year for capital projects, according to City Manager Kevin Anderson.

The painting contract came in below the $122,000 budgeted.

Dixon inspected the water tower last summer and reviewed eight bids from as far away as Wisconsin and Minnesota.

 

Hill, Middle Crossing

pathway projects

 

In 2012, the city applied for CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality) funding for a sidewalk on Hill Street and a bike path on Middle Crossing Road from West Prairie Ronde Street to Russom Park.

Anderson said the purpose of this funding is to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

Each grant cycle allocates money for Cass County projects.

The grant is for 80 percent of construction costs.

Design engineering is not funded by the grant, but construction engineering costs are.

Now that Dowagiac has been approved for the grant, Wightman and Associates of Benton Harbor will provide design, construction engineering and grant administration.

Design engineering for Hill Street costs $6,100; construction engineering, $9,500.

Design engineering for Middle Crossing’s bike path is $8,200; construction engineering, $10,900.

The five-foot pedestrian pathway runs .26 mile east along Hill from Riverside Drive, which has sidewalks, to Golf Street.

 

515 S. Front St.,

228 E. High St.,

public nuisances

 

After a public hearing, council declared property at 515 S. Front St. a public nuisance under the city’s boarding ordinance.

The resolution requires the property owner to obtain a permit and initiate repairs within 20 days and complete repairs within 60 days.

The property is owned by Horizon Land Sales, LLC, of Blue Mound, Kan.

Similar action was taken against a vacant house at 228 E. High St. owned by Dorothy Loeding of Missouri.

 

DART funding

 

A resolution expressed the city’s intent to apply for funding and to approve a projected 2014 Dial-A-Ride budget in accordance with the master contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).

The DART Local Advisory Committee recommended a $204,182.42 budget, including $58,776 in local funds and $32,000 from fares.

As projected, the state share of the budget is projected at $78,587.16 (38.4887 percent) and federal share at $32,669.19 (16 percent).

Last year’s DART budget percentages were: state, 36.2350 percent; and federal, 18.5 percent on a $263,076 budget, which included purchase of a new transit bus.

Worshipful Master Mark High said Dowagiac Masons of Peninsular Lodge 10 are again organizing the Memorial Day parade and ceremonies for May 27.

Council received audit information from Yeo and Yeo of Kalamazoo, which is available for public review in Clerk Jim Snow’s office or on the city’s web site.

Council members toured Dowagiac Area History Museum after their meeting, during which First Ward Councilman Randy Gross and Joan Lyons were appointed to the museum advisory committees for terms expiring in July 2016.