Washington’s City Council heard about two economic development projects and passed two new ordinances at Monday night’s regular meeting. The first ordinance amended an ordinance passed in 2014 regarding the schedule of abatement costs for municipal abatement cleanup. The second ordinance allowed the use of a third-party information service to collect fire department safety information on industrial and commercial buildings. The Council also approved an agreement that transfers responsibility for the city bus routes to Ride Solution.
In other business, Amber Werden and Dusty Davis provided the Council with information on Discover Downtown Washington’s Downtown Revitalization Plan. The Council agreed to support the plan and approved using $7,000 in EDIT funds to help with the cost of the plan. Discover Downtown Washington has received funding from Our Community Foundation and the Daviess County Economic Development Corporation.
The Council also heard from representatives of Triple S Development on plans to add 96 units to the Cherry Tree development. To receive state and federal grants, the city would need to provide a match, but the council was told that already planned infrastructure updates could count as matching funds.
At the end of the meeting, Mayor Rhoads reminded everyone of Food Truck Tuesday and the Fourth of July Celebration at Eastside Park.
The mayor says rides will be open from 5 to 10 p.m. on Tuesday, July 2, and Wednesday, July 3. Rides will be open from 3 to 11 p.m. on July 4. There will be music on the bandstand each night.
Mayor Rhoads also announced that the western part of the National Highway, from the intersection with State Road 57 to the west city limits, is now open. Obstruction crews continue to work on the rebuild of the section of the old highway running from SR 57 to NE 11th Street.
