ELBERTA - The Town of Elberta currently has multiple projects heading into the designing phase, being funded mainly through grant monies. Civil Southeast is heading up these projects. At the June council meeting, representatives from Civil Southeast appeared before the mayor and council to discuss designs for these projects and to gather input.

“Basically all they need from us today is some direction, whether you like this design or would like to see something tweaked,” said Mayor Jim Hamby. “There will be no vote tonight.”

Out of the projects reviewed, the one that has caused a divide amongst Hamby and councilmember Vicky Norris concerns the future of Pine Street. Within the TAP project, which will see the construction of multiple sidewalks throughout the community, a design has been drafted that would make the portion of Pine Street running alongside the Community Center and Police Department one-way. This would be done to allow for parking spaces to be created alongside the Community Center.

“We don’t have to make a one-way street,” said Civil Southeast Engineer Alan Killen. “But I can tell you if we build a sidewalk through there and we don’t make some sort of modification, some sort of greenspace, when we get done you’re not going to be happy with what we’ve done.”

Killen told Norris he would be happy to discuss the project further with her and is open to any ideas. Killen added he and his team had investigated a dozen different options to improve parking in the area. Turning Pine Street one-way was the one that delivered the most parking spaces, allowed the most opportunities for drainage improvements, and utilized the most grant funds, he said.

“Logically I see that, but logically I also see the additional congestion for the whole downtown area,” Norris responded. She argued during the April meeting that traffic within Elberta was only going to increase as the community experienced more growth. She said taking away a street in the downtown area would only result in more traffic congestion than is already being experienced.

Killen plans to submit to the council a conceptional design for the Illinois/Pine Street portion of the project at the July meeting, followed by designs for the Chicago Street area. Discussions on Pine Street will continue as the design phases progress.

“The plan right now is we are going to go a little slower on design, hopefully to have all the issues ironed out so once we’re approved we can just go,” Killen said. “We’re looking at Dec. 1 roughly having these designs to ALDOT for their approval, and we’ll go from there. The other benefit we’re seeing is that with bids skyrocketing, we’re hoping that by dragging our feet a little maybe it will help us down the road, so this will stabilize out with the price increase.”

Killen said depending on if and when ALDOT’s approval is received, he hopes construction will begin next April or May.

Other projects discussed during the June meeting include:

• The Rebuild Alabama project in the Miflin community. Based on estimated final construction costs of $160,000, the team was able to include extra items in the project, including a turnaround at the end of a portion of Bay Pines Road for garbage trucks and the inclusion of an additional speed hump on Bay Pines Road.

• Work at the Sportsplex is nearing completion, Killen said, as his team works through closeout and completes final in-kind items.

• The town has been awarded $35,915 through the Scrap Tire Marketing Grant, and brown playground mulch will be placed at the Sportsplex playground in approximately six weeks.

• Civil Southeast is applying for a second Scrap Tire Marketing Grant on behalf of the town, asking for $42,000. If the grant is awarded, the monies will be used to purchase playground mulch for the park located on Highway 98.