Mostly clear. Low around 60F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Mostly clear. Low around 60F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.

GARRETT — Proposed plans for a new building to house a vacuum truck that serves Garrett’s water and wastewater utilities were presented to the Garrett Board of Works Tuesday.

Tim Ehlerding, vice president of customer solutions at FCI Construction, offered drawings and budget options for a proposed 7,200-square-foot, pre-engineered utility building to store the vacuum tank truck, a unit that pneumatically sucks liquids, sludge and slurries from various locations in order to transport the material to another site. The proposed five-bay, 60-by-120-foot building includes 840 square feet of office space, expandable doors, sprinkler system, an asphalt parking lot and concrete approach pads. The building would be erected at on East Quincy Street at the water tower.

Ehlerding estimated the cost at $1.5 million, with a contingency in the event of any unexpected issues that might arise. In most cases, problems are found underground, he added.

Funding options were also presented, including a standard bond issue, which Ehlerding said would be expensive for a project of this size.

A second option would implement the build, operate, transfer method where the county leases property from a developer who builds the project to the city’s specifications and could involve many local contractors in the process. The city would then take ownership of the property after it is paid off.

A third option would be to hire and architect and contractor, which Ehlerding said he would be willing serve, but a legal process would be needed to be fulfilled.

While board members and City Planner Milton Otero recommended moving forward with the project as it has been in the works for two years, Mayor Todd Fiandt asked that the issue be tabled until the board’s next meeting on July 19.

In response to recent social media postings about vehicle break-ins on the west side of town, Police Chief Gerald Kline said nine have been entered, the majority of which were unlocked. Among items reportedly taken were loose change, eyeglasses and one purse that was later recovered. One of the cases may have been a domestic issue, he added.

“The guys continue to be vigilant,” Kline said of officers.

He encouraged anyone seeing someone suspicious to call the police department with any information in order to catch the person or persons.

Kline announced the Garrett Police Department is hosting “Garrett Night Out” on Thursday, Aug. 25 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Eastside Park. The free event will include food trucks, K-9 actions, touch-a-truck, local groups and organizations, games and fun, he said.

Code Enforcement Officer Tara Smurr reported this is a busy time of year for her department, with 131 code violations in the past three weeks, mostly for tall grass and weeds.

During that time, 114 certified letters were sent, 98 abates complied, and 65 abates sent to City Hall for billing.

Seven applications were approved by the board for the city’s 50/50 sidewalk replacement program, amounting to a total of $24,715 to be shared between the property owners and the city.

Work on the Judy Morrill Sidewalk Beautification Project has been pushed back to mid-month or early August as the contractor has previous commitments in Auburn, according to Otero.

Final drafts have been completed for the infrastructure bill of sale for Heritage Estates and fiber optic, Otero added.

The city continues to conduct an address audit and identification of homes that have been converted into duplexes, apartments or remodeled into multi-family homes without city approval, his report showed.

Street Department Superintendent Eric Mossberger reported mosquito spraying continues on a weekly basis. Storm basins have been treated and the pool has passed required testing.

A section of the street in the 500 block of East Houston Street was milled out to fix problem areas last week and the surface has been replaced. Street crew members continue to water trees for the Randolph Street project and park flowers, he added.

Fiandt thanked all department heads for their efforts with the Heritage Days event earlier this month. He announced an End of Summer event on Saturday, Aug. 27 in Eastside Park that includes Rollin’ Heritage, food trucks and the Bulldogs band.

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