Forsyth Village Vision News

Forsyth Fast Facts

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:18:00 GMT

Items of interest from Village staff and the April 16 Board meeting

BOARD DECISIONS

In response to a request from Village Engineer Chuck Hunsinger, trustees asked Village Administrator Heather Kimmons to procure the easements necessary for proceeding with the Cox Street Phase IV improvement project.
Trustees approved an ordinance to allow the Village to sell or dispose of personal property type items that are obsolete or no longer function, including computer equipment, cameras and related items.
Trustees voted to appoint Forsyth residents Mike Mandrell and Wayne Kent as the Village's representatives to the Decatur Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, following a recommendation from Mayor Hap Gilbert.
Trustees passed two ordinances, approving a special use permit for the Comfort Inn and vacating an easement in the planned unit development known as One Market Place. Each request had been discussed and previously approved at the April 2 Board meeting.
Trustees approved the final draft of a new fund balance and cash reserve policy that had been requested by Village auditors.
Trustees approved the operating and capital budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year and also approved a resolution amending the 2011-12 budget to reflect minor changes in actual spending.
Trustees discussed an expanded ethical code of conduct for elected Village officials that would be more comprehensive than the minimal state statute currently inplace. Village Attorney Jeff Jurgens presented a proposed policy ordinance amending the current policy, and trustees agreed to give their individual edits to that draft to Village Administrator Heather Kimmons for her to revise with Jurgens. Trustee Larry Reed expressed concern over a lack of consequences for violations, and Jurgens concurred, saying that for the most part, “There’s not a lot of teeth in enforcement.”
Trustees also agreed to make individual edits to Jurgens’ draft of a proposed policy ordinance for distribution of the hotel/motel taxes collected by the Village and allocations from the general fund.
The policy is designed to help expedite allocation decisions in response to funding requests from various community groups. Trustee Kerstin Trachtenberg requested and other trustees concurred that Jurgens’ draft should be split into two separate ordinances to avoid confusion between the two separate funding entities. Trustees recently voted to suspend the Village’s hotel/motel tax indefinitely, but funds are still available in reserve for this purpose. By law, hotel/motel taxes collected must be spent on tourism efforts.
A resolution to proclaim May 14- 18 as Small Business and Entrepreneur Week in Forsyth was approved by trustees. It had been submitted by SCORE Chapter No. 296 and the Center for Entrepreneurship at Millikin University.

OTHER NEWS

Forsyth resident Clint Johnston asked the Board to consider placing a stop sign at the corner of Elwood and Magnolia as a public safety measure due to vehicles regularly speeding down Elwood. He stated his observation that children crossing Elwood Street to use a pocket park were at risk. Trustee Eric Morr noted that the last resident request for a stop sign came accompanied with a petition signed by several residents. For now, deputies offered to make extra patrols in the area.

County Highway 20 project comes under review

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:20:00 GMT

At the April 16 Village Board meeting, trustees pondered what if any steps to take concerning a proposed County Highway 20 improvements project.

The birth of the project extends back to 2008, when more than six inches of rainfall in a five-hour period caused significant flooding in residents’ homes in the Phillips Circle area. In the search for a solution, Village and Macon County officials agreed to seek state and federal funding to help finance an $8 million joint project to reconstruct Highway 20 and improve drainage in the area. Both parties agreed to split costs equally between the two entities, and jointly the two have spent $360,000 on engineering costs to date, with Forsyth spending the larger share of $200,000.

However, the project has been in the news in recent weeks, as County board members unanimously agreed in an April 12 amendment that the highway would not be constructed without their board’s approval until the Illinois Department of Transportation declared the road “functionally obsolete.” That board’s action followed the expressed concerns of two farmers in the area, Brad McCool and Don Westerman, who in March had publicly questioned the necessity of sacrificing more than 20 joint acres of their farm ground to build three retention basins for the project.

At their April 16 meeting, Forsyth trustees discussed what to do next.

“We really should stop doing any engineering work until we are sure we can afford the project,” said Trustee Bob Rasho. “We have invested $200,000 and we have no clue when we are going to build it.”

Trustee Larry Reed agreed, saying, “Let’s step back and both sides take a look at it.”

No action was taken that night.

Tennis, anyone?

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:21:00 GMT

Forsyth youth have the opportunity to advance their tennis skills this summer under the leadership of former professional tennis player Cory Sandgren, currently a pro at Decatur Athletic Club.

Two eight-week sessions will be held: a Midwest Youth Team Tennis program for girls and boys ages 6-8 and 9-10, and a Midwest Future Team Tennis program for youth in sixth through eight grade.

All sessions will be held in Forsyth Park on Mondays and Tuesdays, May 29-July 24. The cost is $95 per eight-week session, $145 for two sessions.

For more information or to register, visit www.MidwestTeam-Tennis.com. To contact Sandgren, call 423-7020. Registration ends May 11.

Library News

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:24:00 GMT

Get crafty for mom
Drop in at Forsyth Public Library anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, to make a craft to give to mom on Mother’s Day. All ages are welcome; no registration is required.

Long-time committee member resigns
Charlie Frey has resigned from the Library Committee, effective May 1. “Charlie has served three non-consecutive terms on the committee, totaling eight years, most recently serving as the committee’s secretary,” said Library Director Rachel Miller. “He has also contributed valuable perspective for building discussions by providing scale drawings of the library. Charlie’s work as a committee member has been greatly appreciated.”

Annual sale April 27-28
The library’s annual magazine and used materials sale will be held April 27-28 in Forsyth Public Library’s conference room. Items are available for sale from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday, April 27, and from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, April 28. All items in the sale have been removed from the library’s collection for reasons of age, condition or lack of circulation, and the removal of these items will make room for updated materials.

This year’s sale includes young adult and children’s books, videos and magazines. Magazines will be sold for 10 cents each, with videos and books priced at 25 cents each. DVDs will be sold for 50 cents each. Proceeds from the sale go to the Village’s general fund.

Administrator’s resignation leads to Board dispute

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:28:00 GMT

The unexpected resignation of Village Administrator Heather Kimmons has brought scrutiny on how the Village is run and specifically on three-term Mayor Hap Gilbert. Gilbert, who was elected to the Village’s highest office in 2001, also previously served 22 years as a Village trustee. His current term is slotted to expire next spring, and he recently stated that he will not seek re-election.

Kimmons, who has served as administrator for just over two years, announced her resignation at the end of the April 2 Village Board meeting, giving the two-month notice required by her contact. At the April 16 Board meeting, her resignation was again the center of attention as Trustee Bob Rasho made a motion that the trustees deny it and elaborated by reading a prepared statement.

Noting that it was “incumbent upon the board to find the root cause(s) of why someone as capable as Heather would be “run off the job” in two years, Rasho said he was “shocked and extremely disturbed” at her resignation and accused Gilbert of working behind the scenes to “undermine her efforts and make her professional life miserable.”

Rasho indicated that he had been encouraged by Heather’s leadership and felt that the Village was making headway toward being run in a “more professional and transparent manner.” He also shared his concern that all that would come to a halt with Kimmons’ resignation.

“It is apparent to me that if left unchecked [Gilbert] will continue to disregard transparency, proper documentation, professionalism and [have a] total disregard for Board input,” Rasho said. He closed his statement with a vote of no confidence in the mayor and publicly called for Gilbert’s resignation.

“I have not conspired against her,” Gilbert said in response, noting that he didn’t know Kimmons had planned to resign, and that if he had known, “I would have tried to talk her out of it.”

“I supported her in almost everything we’ve done,” he said, suggesting that the “unreasonable expectations” of Rasho and other Board members had driven Kimmons to resign.

Gilbert accused Rasho, his opponent in the 2009 mayoral election, of “still campaigning for the election” and said, “It’s Mrs. Kimmons’ option whether she wants to resign or not. She is more than welcome to stay ... I’m not looking forward to an administrator search.”

In the discussion preceding the vote on Rasho’s motion, trustee Kerstin Trachtenberg said Kimmons “has done a wonderful job of handling everything we’ve asked her to do.” Citing the Village Vision as an example, she noted how it had transformed under Kimmons’ leadership from a promotional “puff piece” to an excellent method of keeping residents informed of what was truly happening in Village government. Searching for a solution to what she called a lack of collaboration among Board members, Trachtenberg suggested that term limits for the Village’s elected officials be put into place.

Rasho agreed, but trustee Larry Reed said “sometimes you need an old-timer to keep an eye on things,” noting that trustees weren’t fulltime, professional politicians, but essentially part-time volunteers who needed the knowledge base provided by those who have served for a while.

Before the vote was taken, Kimmons made it clear in response to a question from trustee Eric Morr that her decision to resign was firm, but she was “flattered” by the Board’s motion. She also responded to a direct question from Rasho, confirming that he had done nothing that led her to resign from her post.

Ultimately, the trustees voted 5-0 in a token vote to deny her resignation, with Trustee Steve Hubbard voting “present.”

That left only the decision of how to move forward with the process of hiring a new administrator, which the Board left in the hands of Kimmons, asking Morr and Trachtenberg to meet with her to discuss how to “learn from [this] and not make the same mistakes,” Rasho said.

Although Gilbert had wanted to hold off on a decision about how to conduct the hiring process for a new administrator until the next Board meeting, the trustees urged Kimmons to move quickly in hopes that the new person could be in place before Kimmons’ last day on May 31. Trachtenberg suggested a May 1 application deadline, with applicants to be considered at the May 7 Board meeting, which trustees approved.

“I can have an ad in the papers by the end of this week,” Kimmons said that night. “I think we have some good local talent.” She accepted a new position shortly after resigning as administrator and plans to continue as a Village resident. She will start her new job in August.

Village Board Meeting

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:44:00 GMT

6:30 PM at Village Hall

Forsyth Fast Facts

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:39:00 GMT

Items of interest from Village staff and the April 2 Board meeting

BOARD DECISIONS

At the April 2 Board meeting, Village trustees revisited four hotel/ motel tax funding requests that had been denied during the previous Board meeting. Trustee Larry Reed had asked that the requests be put back on the agenda for a vote since two trustees, Steve Hubbard and Eric Morr, had been absent at the March 19 meeting when trustees had voted 3-1 to deny petitions submitted by BassMaster Tournament, MidState Soccer, Millikin University and Shoreline Classic. After a lengthy discussion, and despite Reed’s suggestion that the amounts granted be reduced from the original requests, trustees reaffirmed denial of all four. A 4-2 vote was cast on each item, with Steve Hubbard joining Reed in favor of approving funding.
Trustees accepted a Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation and approved a special use permit for Comfort Inn. The permit will allow owner Vik Bhakta to change the color and wording of two nonconforming pole signs for the hotel to say Quality Inn instead of Comfort Inn, reflecting a corporate name change. The nonconforming signs themselves had been approved through a 2005 special use permit requested by the previous owner and approved by the Village Board at that time.
Trustees approved vacating an easement in order to allow the purchase of the Buffalo Wild Wing lot. This lot is one of four lots comprising the One Market Place development. Additional development had been planned to the west of the current development, but the area is now owned by Centrue Bank due to foreclosure on the property. According to attorney Frank Ierulli, who represents the bank, the easement was originally meant for utilities and drainage for the planned development, but it now sits unused in the middle of the property, hampering the sale of Lot No. 4. The trustees’ approval to vacate the easement followed a Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation and will permit the purchase of Lot No. 4 to move forward.
Trustees unanimously approved a motion to allow staff to proceed with work on the Cox Street improvement plans, Phase IV, to include a 12-inch water main.
Trustees unanimously authorized Village staff to obtain the necessary easements for the Hundley Road sewer extension project. Plans for the project are currently with the IEPA for review.
Trustees voted to adopt a cafeteria plan for eligible employees who will be paying 25 percent of their claimed dependents’ health insurance premiums. The plan, and employee contribution, go into effect May 1.
Through lack of a motion, trustees decided against appointing an ad hoc committee for the purpose of organizing gifts for players and raffle prizes for the Futures charity golf tournament at Hickory Point Golf Course in June. In addition, trustees also decided against allocating any funding to the tournament for that purpose beyond the $20,000 they had granted out of the hotel-motel taxes in March.

OTHER NEWS

The Village's 2012-13 fiscal budget will come before Board members for a final approval on April 19. Trustees unanimously approved the updated draft after an April 2 public hearing drew no comments.
Village deputies reported “drastic improvements” in the conduct of area youth at Hickory Point Mall on Saturday evenings following continued diligence in monitoring the situation and taking action when necessary. Deputies are also increasing their bike patrols of the Village now that spring has arrived.
By consensus, trustees agreed to pursue strengthening of the current code of conduct ordinance, which Village attorney Jeff Jurgens called “the bare minimum” as dictated by state statutes. Jurgens presented a possible draft policy to trustees for consideration as well as a draft of a hotel/motel funding request policy to help expedite future allocation decisions by the Board.

Library News

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:41:00 GMT

Library celebrates national week
National Library Week celebration concludes with treats for each person who visits Forsyth Public Library on Saturday, April 14.

The library celebrated National Library Week by sponsoring multiple programs and activities during the week of April 8-14, including several opportunities to learn how easy it is to access library resources from home or at the library. Informal sessions were to be held Thursday, April 12, at 6 p.m., Friday, April 13 at 10 a.m., and Saturday, April 14, at 1 p.m., each demonstrating the library’s online catalog, how to access a personal library account, and providing information about the library’s online databases. Participants discover the wide range of materials and information available by using a library card.

Other programs at the library during National Library Week included Tales & Tunes on April 11, preschool storytimes on April 12, and a special Saturday preschool storytime on April 14. All Forsyth residents are eligible for free library cards.

Annual sale April 27-28
The library’s annual magazine and used materials sale will be held April 27-28 in Forsyth Public Library’s conference room. Items are available for sale from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday, April 27, and from 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 28. All items in the sale have been removed from the library’s collection for reasons of datedness, condition or lack of circulation, and the removal of these items will make room for updated materials.

Village administrator resigns, effective May 31

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:44:00 GMT

Village Administrator Heather Kimmons ended the April 2 Board meeting with her resignation. Her last day in the office is set for May 31. Kimmons had been named the Village’s fifth administrator in March 2010. An attorney, she had served as a deputy public access counselor in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office in Springfield before being named Village administrator, and had also worked for the Decatur law firm of Johnson Waller and Chiligiris from 2002-2007.

“It’s time to move on,” Kimmons said in a recent interview. “A lot of significant issues are close to or have been wrapped up. It’s never a good time, but it’s as good a time as any.” Kimmons says she is looking forward to doing everything she can to make “as smooth a transition as possible for all involved.”

Acknowledging that the choice of her successor and the timeline and parameters for the search process are up to the Village Board, Kimmons feels that local residents offer some “good possibilities” for the role. She hopes to play a part in the selection process and also hopes “a successor is in place by the time I step down.”

Mayor Hap Gilbert planned to consult with Village attorney Jeff Jurgens on how to conduct the search process, and has said that an interim administrator might be considered.

“Heather has made significant changes,” Gilbert told the Decatur Herald & Review on April 2. “I had hoped things would continue, She has us moving in the right direction.”

Kimmons feels that her biggest accomplishments as administrator were encouraging transparency and openness in Village actions, moving the Village toward a more professional organization and “shedding light on some issues.”

“I’ve learned so much here,” she said. “It’s a been a positive experience overall. I think we all agree that Forsyth is a great little community. The residents have been a joy to work with. My thanks to them for being so accommodating.

“Things are going to continue to move in a positive direction because we have some very strong, committed and honorable Board members,” she said. She encouraged residents to let their voices be heard, and she plans to stay involved as a Forsyth resident. She noted that one of her biggest concerns initially was a shortage of public participation at Village Board meetings.

“Be involved to the extent your time allows,” she said. “It makes us a better community to have more voices instead of just a few.”

Kimmons is considering a few employment opportunities but hopes to spend some time off this summer with her daughters, 11 and 13. She and her husband, Jim, have been Forsyth residents for 12 years.

Forsyth Fast Facts

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 02:12:00 GMT

Items of interest from Village staff and the March 19 Board meeting

BOARD DECISIONS

Trustees accepted a staff recommendation for the Village to implement a reserve fund policy in which a fund balance will be reserved in the general fund sufficient to maintain Village operations for a six-month period. The Board also agreed to reserve a fund balance in the water and sewer fund sufficient to cover a three-month operations period. The policy is expected to be effective April 30, 2012, and follows a recommendation made by Village auditors.

At the previous Board meeting held March 5, trustees allocated a portion of the Village’s hotel/motel tax revenue to eight special interest groups which previously had presented petitions. Since that time, four new special interest groups came forward to request funding for their events. During the March 19 Board meeting, trustees denied all four requests.

Before a vote was taken, and in the absence of trustees Steve Hubbard and Eric Morr, Mayor Hap Gilbert suggested that the Board defer a vote until the April Board 2 meeting, when all trustees were expected to be present. Trustee Kerstin Trachtenberg objected to the proposed delay, citing a need to bring greater certainty to the budget prior to the planned April 2 public hearing on the same. After a brief discussion, the majority of trustees present then made the decision to move forward with the voting.

Trustees Marilyn Johnson, Bob Rasho and Kerstin Trachtenberg voted “no” four times to deny petitions submitted by Millikin University, Bass Master Tournament, Shoreline Classic and MidState Soccer. Trustee Larry Reed voted “yes” to support funding for each of these groups.

When the time arrived to consider post prom funding from the Village’s general fund for the private schools of St. Teresa, Lutheran School Association (LSA) and Decatur Christian School, trustees offered no motions and a vote was not taken. Mayor Hap Gilbert had earlier suggested that funding be offered to these three private institutions, consistent with what had been done for other schools where Forsyth youth attended. LSA was the only one of the three groups which had made an in-person request. In a separate motion advanced by trustee Kerstin Trachtenberg, trustees voted unanimously to terminate further consideration of non-presented event funding requests for fiscal year 2012-13.

OTHER NEWS

Forsyth Park restrooms are open, and playground equipment has been inspected, with the ball diamonds being prepared and batting cages ready for use, according to a report from Public Works Director Larry Coloni.

Public Works Department crews have completed overseeding and repaired the right-of-way along Elwood Street in completion of the storm sewer project. Crews now are busy landscaping the right-of-ways from the 2011 street improvements project.

Forsyth Public Library Director Rachel Miller announced that the library’s annual magazine and materials sale will be Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28. In other library news, several computers and related equipment were replaced in March.

No action was taken by trustees following a discussion on a potential conduct and/or standards ordinance or policy for elected officials. Village Administrator Heather Kimmons said it would be helpful to define what constitutes a potential conflict of interest for elected officials and offered that she had been researching model ordinances and policies. Both she and trustees Marilyn Johnson and Bob Rasho reacted with surprise when Village Clerk Kathy Mizer said the Village currently has a conflict of interest and an ethics policy in place. Kimmons said she would work with Village Attorney Jeff Jurgens to compile information on this topic for trustees to consider at a later date.

Help reduce outdoor pollution

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 02:11:00 GMT

Please keep grass clippings off the streets! Mowing season is fast approaching, and Village residents are reminded to help reduce pollution by keeping litter, including grass clippings, off the streets and to use the biodegradable, disposable baggies at the Mutt Mitt stations in Forsyth Park when walking dogs.

Since 2004, Forsyth has been committed to help reduce pollution from storm water runoff through control measures set up by the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).

Library News

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 02:13:00 GMT

Baby TALK and Tales & Tunes continue at Forsyth Public Library on Wednesdays in March, April, and May at 9:30 a.m. These early literacy activities are focused on children up to age 3.

Preschool storytimes are also available at the library. Children ages 3-5 are invited to attend storytime on Thursday mornings through April 26 with an additional Saturday session scheduled for April 14. Storytimes are held from 10-10:45 a.m. in the conference room of the library and include stories, rhymes, games and simple crafts.

Call the library at 877-8174 or email sandihayes.fpl@gmail.com for more information about these programs. No registration is necessary. The library staff members say goodbye and wish a happy retirement to Senior Library Technician Sheila Schmahl. Her last day of work at the library is March 29.

Community News

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 02:14:00 GMT

Amy Cleary, a former Macon County Deputy and one of the original founders of Forsyth’s Elderwatch, will speak at the group’s next meeting. It will be held at the Forsyth Community Room at 1 p.m., Monday, April 9, a change from the usual meeting date.

Elderwatch offers interesting speakers, fresh coffee, light refreshments and an insider’s perspective of hot topics from the Macon County Sheriff’s Department. Meetings are open to all and usually held at 1 p.m. on the first Monday of each month in the Community Room. Special potluck lunches are held in June and December at the Forsyth United Methodist Church.

For more information about the group, contact Dennis Rotz at 877-1405 or Deputy Hoffman at 425-6557.

Employees must pay portion of healthcare premiums

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 02:17:00 GMT

The Village will continue to pay 100 percent of healthcare premiums for full-time employees, but employees must now bear 25 percent of the premium cost to cover their dependents.

Board trustees agreed in a unanimous vote March 5 to direct Village Administrator Heather Kimmons to craft the Village’s operations and maintenance budget to reflect that each employee currently insured will pay 25 percent of healthcare insurance premiums for their covered dependents. At the same time, trustees agreed to budget a 3 percent salary increase across departments to allow for merit-based pay increases. Both changes go into effect May 1, 2012, at the start of the Village’s new fiscal year.

“I have not come across any Illinois community, larger or smaller than Forsyth, which pays 100 percent of the health insurance premiums for its employees AND their dependents,” Kimmons said in a written memo to trustees. She said it was not uncommon to see employees’ premiums covered at 90-100 percent, with dependent premium coverages ranging from 0-70 percent.

Trustee Bob Rasho said the Village should “…look at the big picture” when it comes to both employee healthcare and pension contributions. He noted that the Village contributes 11.79 percent to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) compared to an employee pension contribution of 4.5 percent. He said involvement in such a pension plan “…will come and bite us” just as escalating healthcare costs have. “Get us out of this,” he said.

However, Mayor Hap Gilbert said that while Rasho had a good thought, it was not possible to disassociate the Village as an organization from IMRF. “Once you get one person in, you’re locked in,” the mayor said.

Kimmons said in the next few years the Village may need to look into the option of health savings accounts, which have much higher deductibles and no premiums. This plan is used by many communities, she said, including nearby Mt. Zion. However, at least through the 2012-13 fiscal year, Forsyth employees will continue to receive healthcare benefits under an 80/20 plan with a $1,000 deductible.

Capital budget to focus on streets, parks, library

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 02:20:00 GMT

Village trustees have set a $3.4 million capital spending budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year which begins May 1. Budget talks recently ended with the adoption of a plan that calls for continued maintenance of the Village with emphasis on its streets, parks and library.

These capital improvements add to fixed assets in the Village and do not include the operations and maintenance budget which, when combined with capital spending, is expected to provide an overall total Village budget of $8.7 million.

This year’s capital planning session on March 6 was not unlike the previous year when trustees were willing to dip into reserve funds for planned capital projects, many of which were not undertaken in the 2011-12 fiscal year, including the Oreana water main. That project had a price tag of $552,000 and will be ready for implementation later this year. Other projects that did not move forward and have since ceased to be priorities in the new budget are irrigation and improvements to ball diamond No. 5 and the purchase of laptop computers for trustees, according to Village Administrator Heather Kimmons.

“We budgeted more than we needed last year,” Kimmons said, noting that several projects came in under budget and made it unnecessary to dip into Village reserves. Among those projects were the light remodeling of Village Hall and roofing the main pavilion in Forsyth Park. The Village currently has $4.9 million in reserves.

Topping the list of street expenditures for FY 2012-13 is $1.1 million for Phase IV of the Cox Street improvements, which will extend from Smith Street to Rt. 51. Design plans have been completed to include a four-foot increase in the existing 20-foot road and a storm sewer on each side. The new design is expected to address needs associated with the street as the primary route for emergency vehicles operated by the Hickory Point Fire Protection District. Additionally, transport trucks use the street to deliver chemicals to the Village’s water treatment plant located at the far east end of the street. Village Engineer Chuck Hunsinger said the project could get underway as early as May.

Costs for the Cox Street project increased from the original $725,000 estimate last fiscal year due to the addition of a 12-inch water main to replace the system’s original six-inch main. Hunsinger provided three different design alternatives before the Village decided on the most costly option to replace the deteriorating cast iron main. Public Works Director Larry Coloni said this water main has created six or more repair claims over the past year.

Several priority projects that earlier had been included in the 2012-13 budget as part of the Village fiveyear capital plan were either eliminated or bumped out further. The $430,000 earmarked for the Oakland Avenue improvements to remedy occasional flooding issues has been eliminated. Bumped out until fiscal year 2013-14 were expenditures on the County Highway 20 improvements project, when it is expected that $258,000 will be allotted for land acquisition. Phase I of the project will come during fiscal year 2014-15 when $1.262 million will be added to the county’s share of the overall construction costs. Also bumped out to 2015-16 was a plan to expand Forsyth Public Library.

Infrastructure expenditures included in the 2012-13 capital improvements and slated for completion this summer are:

Marion Avenue surface replacement, $483,000
Tyrone Drive overlay, $152,000
Jason’s Way overlay, $ 92,500
Fairway Drive overlay, $229,000.

Additional capital projects set for Village parks and its library include:

Trail improvements, $10,000
Northwest pocket park development, $30,000
Trail lighting for northwest pocket park, $30,000
Structural engineering costs to study possible library floor repairs, $10,000

Among the projects which had been part of the Village’s five-year capital plan last year and which trustees decided to put on hold as budgeted items were plans for a recreation/ activities center and a bike path extension to connect Oakland Avenue to Hickory Point Road.

Kimmons combined the Village’s operating and maintenance budget with the capital budget and presented trustees with a tentative annual budget at their March 19 meeting. A public hearing on the budget is set for Monday, April 2, during the regularly scheduled Board meeting.