Washington Mayor Joe Wellman told the City Council that he will be holding a third meeting with representatives of the Indiana Department of Transportation about the condition of Old U.S. 50 through Washington. After Monday night’s meeting the Mayor talked about his goals in the meeting.
The Mayor said the City has discussed taking over ownership of Business 50 from the east side of the City to the west city limits. The Mayor said the repairs to the road will be an expensive project.
Initial projections to upgrade the major east-west thoroughfare through Washington were estimated at $28 million. The State of Indiana’s initial proposal had the City assuming responsibility for 85% of the bill. In January, the City countered by reducing the scope of the project to $20 million and asked the State the pay for the bulk of the repairs.
During the business portion of the meeting, the City Council passed three resolutions transferring funds between accounts and returning $114,000 of unused Community Crossing Grant money to the State. Mayor Wellman said the funds were left over because the project was completed under budget and the money could not be used for other projects. The Council also heard the first reading of an ordinance codifying policies already in place regarding requests to extend the city sewer system to areas outside the city limits. In other business the Council authorized its attorney to file a letter asking for the transfer of the City’s lawsuit with Daviess County Rural Water to the State Supreme Court.
