Farmers Street discussed by Plains Council

Plains Council recently met for their monthly meeting at Town Hall.

Mayor Dan Rowan spoke on a few issues, mostly on what the projection is for fixing the issues at Plains Pool, the sewage lagoons, street maintenance and also the brief discussion of offloading three pieces of town equipment that have no logistical usage for future projects.

When it came to the town pool, Rowan said, ”The team from Jakola Engineering came on Sept. 19 for an onsite evaluation of the pool leaks and suggested some remedies.”

He conveyed to council members that the first thing to be verified was if the leaks are in the return lines. Plains Public Works Department’s Greg Welty was said to have felt confident that they are; they have since the meeting confirmed that location of the leaks without a doubt.

“I have sent this information on to them (Jakola Engineering) and they will be working on a recommendation,” said Rowan.

He also calculated an estimated cost of new concrete decking to be in excess of $16,000. He also took the opportunity to advise the total cost of repairing the boiler was roughly $3,900.

NEXT WAS Farmers Street. “The Farmers Street project is done,” Rowan said. “The total cost for paving, curbs and gutters, the drain and engineering comes to around $84,000. Based on the costs incurred from this project, I believe we need to re-evaluate our list of streets to be repaired under SD #1.”

Rowan went on to discuss possible options with council members to sit and consider of the next few months, to ensure the town is using money wisely and effectively for longevity of the roads and also identifying some of the high-traffic sections the may need attention sooner rather than later.

The general consensus was supported by council members, as they all agreed that having seen the costs of that from the Farmers Street project, it has the ability to help forecast costs for other street maintenance that is in need — without wasting funds unnecessarily.

“The Plains Public Works Department needs a few tools to accomplish asphalt repair on town streets, without hiring a contractor to do the work. I believe we can save a significant amount of funds doing some repairs ourselves. We need a concrete/asphalt saw, jumping jack contractor and a roller,” said Rowan.

ROWAN ALSO recognized the efforts of the Plains Lions Club members that have begun restoration on the Old Jail to help bring it back to life for residents and visitors to enjoy.

“The roof repair is nearly finished. The work has been done by the Lions Club members and the materials paid for by the town and Studs Building Supply. This will be a multi-stage project, the building needs extensive mortar repair and a drain put in by the door,” said Rowan.

Council members seemed to be thrilled with the update on the jail and hope to bring it back to life as seen in the past for town events.

The sewage lagoons were also on the agenda with Rowan updating on the current situation after this spring’s near disaster.

“The U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers sent a team to look at the erosion on the river bank adjacent to the lagoons. The Corps has a Streambank Stabilisation Program that they outlined for me. Under this program a feasibility study will have to be done at an estimated cost of $500,000,” explained Rowan. ”The Corps would pay for the first $100,000 with the remainder split with the town 50-50. They estimated that a bank armouring project would cost $1,000,000 with the town paying 35 percent for a total cost to the town of $550,000.”

He then stated the earliest date that construction would be four years for whenever the feasibly study would begin. Though it was a lot of information to be absorbed, and it didn’t seem as though Rowan or the council had given up on looking for alternate avenues to ensure the lagoons would not fall to the river.

After a discussion on the lagoons and what could be done to be proactive, no decisions were made, rather each member was to sit and digest what was said to hopefully come up with a logistical solution sooner rather than later.

The next town meeting will be Monday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. at Plains Town Hall.