Jay moves projects forward

Projects to replace water system and renovate livestock market progress

Monday night, the Jay Council heard updates on projects the town currently has and unanimously approved a legal services agreement required by the USDA, a loan to cover 10 percent of the water distribution system project, a line of credit to pay contractors working on the livestock market to be reimbursed by a grant awarded by the USDA and three new HVAC units to replace failing ones at the community center.

Jay Livestock Market

Operations Manager Eric Seib told council members the hogbarn roofing is on and the electrical work will be done next. He said the weeds were removed in the parking lot and both buildings have been cleaned out.

The exterior of the hogbarn will be painted next and one bid for the HVAC contract has been confirmed. He said two 10-ton HVAC units will be installed.

“We need to work on the bathrooms to make sure they are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant,” said Seib.

He told the council he is working on permitting to make the facility into a farmer's market or something that the town can benefit from.

The deadline to have the improvement completes is Aug. 31 and Seib said the next step is to discuss how to utilize the facility to best meet the needs of the residents of Jay and surrounding area and encourage economic development in the town.

CDBG Grant

Seib told the council the bids for the portion of the water distribution system replacement that will be funded by the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) have gone out from the engineer and that there are many potential bidders. Bids will be opened after 5 p.m., this Thursday, Aug. 8, then the town will advertise for bids and choose a bid at the next council meeting.

FDOT Highway 4

The construction on Highway 4 will start in October, but Dewberry Engineering representative Crystal Weatherington was not sure why it would take so long to get started. She told the council she will find out and in form them at a futurecouncil meeting, but she did indicate the pipeline will be replaced before the roadwork begins.

In other business, the council:

-approved having a Legal Services Agreement in place as a part of the requirements the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has for the water system improvement grant and loan application in place for the town of Jay, according to Jay Attorney Steve Cozart.

In a motion made by Councilman Holloway and seconded by Councilman Wayne Godwin to accept document and to authorize the mayor to sign it, the motion carried unanimously. Mayor Shon Owens was not present.

-approved the acceptance of a letter from the USDA that they have approved the towns request for the grant, with a total budget of $2,194,900.

Of that amount, the loan the town will have to pay back is $216,000 at a 2.125 percent over 40 years, which is $8,072 a year. The agency will give the town $1,378,900 and CDBG is the other $600,000. Only about 10 percent of the total will be paid from the town of Jay. Interest will add to that, but the town may look at paying more in the future to decrease the amount paid.

In a motion made by Councilwoman Hendricks and seconded by Councilman Holloway, the motion carried unanimously.

-approved to establish a line of credit with United Bank to pay for the contractors of the livestock market before the town gets reimbursed by the USDA with the current grant. The town will pay out, then be reimbursed in three or four months.

In a motion made by Councilwoman Hendricks which was seconded by Councilman Wayne Godwin. The motion carried unanimously.

-approved three new heating and air condition units from Moore Heating and Air at a cost of $8,500 to replace failing units from 1999 at the Linda Carden Community Center. In a motion made by Councilman Holloway to purchase, and seconded by Councilwoman Hendricks, the motion carried.

The next Jay council meeting will be at 6 p.m., Monday, Aug. 19, at Jay Town Hall.

 
 
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