The Crothersville Town Council got a dose of inflation, post pandemic building costs and contemporary reality during their July meeting last Tuesday when three contractors submitted bids exceeding the engineer’s estimate over $26,000 to $128,000 to construct a storage building next to the Crothersville Police Station.
FPBH, the town’s engineering firm estimated the cost of constructing a 1,600 square foot secure pole frame building at $200,000. However, the council’s jaws dropped when the lowest bid, submitted by Goecker Construction of Seymour, came in at $226,933.
Bradshaw Building Specialties of North Vernon submitted a bid of $284,222 while McRae Enterprises of Sellersburg came in at $327,972.
The bidding results prompted Councilman Jamy Greathouse to comment, “Over $200,000 for a 1,600 square foot pole barn?”
The council voted 4-0 to reject all bids and re-visit the police building.
In another sobering moment, the council approved a proposal of $20,500 to clean the functioning town well and inspect a second well.
Currently only one of the town’s water utility’s four wells is supplying the water needs of the community. While it is the best producing well—generating up to 300 gallons of water per minute— but the well was constructed in 1995 and is in need of cleaning, maintenance and inspection.
The council voted 4-0 to have National Water Services of Paoli clean and inspection well #4 and use a camera to inspect well #2, drilled in 1973, to determine what is needed to bring it back on line.
A second firm, Bastin Logan Water Services of Franklin entered a proposal of $10,897 per well to clean and inspect.
In other business:
•The council approved forming a six member committee to formulate a master plan to initiate Planning and Zoning inside the town limits. Two council member, two Redevelopment Commission members and two members of the public will be appointed to serve on the committee.
•Approved paving a vacant lot the town owns at the former Ashley Foundry site (formerly Snow’s Restaurant) to provide for more downtown parking. Currently the razed structure has sand as a base and some motorists have become stuck when they park on it, it was reported.
•Approved spending up to $5,100 to purchase a utility trailer to haul the town’s mowers.
•Approved switching the town’s property & casualty insurance with Shepherd-Moore Insurance Agency to Astra Insurance for an annual premium of $44,583 representing a savings from the town’s current insurance carrier who was charging $49,827.