City Projects

Mayor: River Falls project to begin in June

Article by Michele Gerlach, Andalusia Star-News
Published Thursday, February 4, 2010

Contractors could be “turning dirt” on the city’s River Falls Street project by the first of June, Andalusia Mayor Earl Johnson told city council members Tuesday night. Johnson said the city received word Tuesday that the approximately $1.5 million in grant funds it has been awarded for the project are “in place.”

Work was first expected to begin this spring, but in November, Johnson said he was told by state Department of Transportation (DOT) officials “they didn’t have the money to release.”

This week, the very relieved mayor called Tuesday a “watershed day.” It was also the day he learned the city had received a$250,000 energy grant with which to replace aged pumps in the city’s sewerage system.

Tuesday night, the council took one of the final steps needed before DOT can approve the street plans and the bidding process can begin when it agreed to pay Omega Rail Management an $8,000 easement for 20 years.

“This is one of the last pieces we need for the plan to be approved,” Johnson told the council. “Hopefully, in two weeks, we’ll be in a position to start advertising for bids,” he said.

“We will accept the low bid, then it will go back to them for review. Once they execute the contract, we can start. We could be turning dirt by June 1.

Last year, the city put $6 million in financing in place for this project and others with a bond deal. Johnson said he is anxious to receive the River Falls Street bids, which will determine how much money is available for other projects.

Kirkpatrick Park

Article by Michele Gerlach, Andalusia Star-News
Published Monday, September 7, 2009

City officials will open bids later this month for phase I of the new Kirkpatrick Park, and the family who inspired the park has increased its financial commitment to the project.

Barbara Tyler of the Andalusia’s Department of Leisure Services said the first phase of construction will include a 50-by-80-foot pavilion that includes restrooms and a stone fireplace with grills, as well as a memorial garden.

C.L. Kirkpatrick donated the seven acres for the park in memory of his wife, Sallie A. Kirkpatrick, who lost her life in a house fire during Hurricane Ivan in 2005. Mrs. Kirkpatrick was an avid gardener and great lover of flowers and the outdoors.

Her family donated the property on which the family’s house once stood, and later agreed to provide the $50,000 matching funds needed to secure Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant for park construction.

“When Mr. Kirkpatrick said he wanted to do a memorial park, the ideas kept growing and growing,” Tyler said. “He had seen a pavilion in Opelika that he really liked, and asked us to include it.”

The city has been working with designers from Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood to develop a plan for the park. As ideas were added, the price tag went up.

When the engineers completed the drawings and an estimate, Kirkpatrick increased his financial commitment to the project by an additional $100,000.

The site is on Kirkpatrick Street, just off of where Whatley Street turns into Beatrice Street. City works have already been busy doing site preparation work and moving plants. The original home site will be a memorial garden with crushed limestone paths leading to a focal point.

Bids for the project will be opened at 2 p.m. on Sept. 30, and should be finalized by the city council on the following Monday.

In the second phase of the project, Tyler said, a playground area and perhaps some walking paths will be added.

Industrial Access Road

The City Council awarded the low bid for construction of its access road into the industrial park to Grady Rawls and Son, Inc. The company’s bid was $1.28 million, a figure that was $140,000 below the original estimated cost of construction.

Church Street School Project

News Article by Michele Gerlach, Andalusia Star-News
Published Friday, September 4, 2009

The Andalusia Ballet Association has extended the deadline for purchasing engraved bricks ($100) and cornerstones ($500) for the Friends of the Ballet Patio planned for the historic Church Street School until the end of this month.

In April, the Andalusia City Council voted to work with the Andalusia Ballet to develop what will become the Church Street Cultural Arts Center, to be located in the old Church Street School. The city agreed that the Ballet would occupy about a third of the building — the ground or middle floor — and have a 20-year lease. The Ballet has committed to raise $500,000 for the renovation of the building, and the city will continue to seek $1 million in funding to complete the renovations.

The architect’s rendering of the exterior was unveiled at the ballet’s Bollywood Bash auction last week.

For information, call the ballet at 222-6620.