COLUMBUS, Ind. — Columbus City Council has voted to fund a major bicentennial project, though there are concerns about how the project will be funded.
Columbus City Council approved a resolution Tuesday authorizing the Columbus Redevelopment Commission to contribute $683,741.75 from the Certified Technology Park Fund to the 1821 Trail. The vote was split 5-2, with council members Grace Kestler and Frank Miller opposing the measure.
Redevelopment Director Heather Pope said that Hitchcock Design Group and American Structurepoint previously gave an estimate of $2.27 million for the project’s total cost — not including the cost of water main replacement or the preliminary design phase, which would make the total cost about $2.8 million. However, a more recent summary from Pope, provided to The Republic after the meeting, shows a project total of about $1.94 million (with the water main and preliminary design phase included, as well as updated costs from the bid award).
“I know that we’re only being asked to approve the tech park fund,” Miller said. “And I understand that construction costs are exorbitant right now, and they continue to grow. … The total project, if it does indeed come in at $2.2 million, it seems like an awful big number for such a short trail.”
Pope responded by comparing the project to the State Street Trail, saying that these two areas are “some of our nicer trails.”
“When you think of the trail connection between Mill Race and Noblitt Park and up north, those are simply asphalt paths,” she said. “We’ve built this trail to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan standards, which is — for a multi-use trail, it needs to be a minimum of 10 feet in width, and that’s what we’ve provided here. I don’t think you see that in a lot of the other trails around the community.”
For the complete story, see Friday’s Republic.
