Skip to main content

Andrews council receives updates

During the Monday, Nov. 22, regular Andrews Town Council meeting, it was revealed that quite a bit of progress has been made on the property at 75 S. Main St., and council members were able to see a variety of photos that documented the progress that has been made on the property. They  were also able to see some of the structural issues that still need to be taken care of.

Two representatives from the Department of Community Development (DCD), Jessica Beal and Greg Ricker, were present to discuss what they found during the walk-through of the building, which took place the week prior to the meeting. Much of the interior has been cleaned out, but there are a few spots that still raise concern.

The roof is currently the main issue with the property. Not only does it need new shingles, but there are structural issues that need to be addressed as well. The property owner hopes to have both issues taken care of before winter hits full force, but is currently having scheduling difficulty with the company that quoted them prices for the roof.

According to the property owner, the company – Bone Dry Roofing – has had to cancel and reschedule a few times. And Ricker, along with the council, are concerned that the company did not actually give the property owner a quote for the structural work, but just the shingle work that needs to be completed.

As of the Monday meeting, there was a portion of the property’s roof that had let loose, creating a hole. This structural damage needs to be fixed before any sort of work can be completed on the outdoor portion of the roof itself. Because there is a question as to whether or not the quote is for the full amount of work that needs to be completed, councilwoman Laura Dillon asked the property owner if she could have Town Marshal Austin Bullock contact the company.

“Would you be okay if Austin called them and talked to them?” she asked. “Ask what their timeline is and if they’re even planning on still doing it? Including the inside, the structural stuff.”

The property owner accepted the offer to have Bullock call and clarify what the company intended to do. Bullock was asked to clarify to the roofing company that, since the work that needs to be completed is part of bringing the building back up to ordinance standards, there needs to be a timeline given of when they expect work to be completed.

Council gave the property owner until Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, to come up with a “realistic plan” for both parts of the roofing project.

In unrelated business, Eric Woodmansee, of AME Consulting, gave council updates regarding State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan details and the town’s options for its water project. Because SRF is looking toward doing more regional water projects instead of projects for individual towns, Andrews did not receive the funding they hoped they would for their project. So, alternate options are being discussed.

Woodmansee proposed that the town of Andrews complete a contract with AME Consulting that would directly reimburse the company for any on-call work that may need to be completed during the process of meeting requirements of the project. Woodmansee said that this contract would also help with further Preliminary Engineering Reports (PER) that could come down the road. Woodmansee’s proposal was accepted.

The idea of connecting to Huntington for water was also discussed during the meeting. Woodmansee has been in contact with the water operator for Huntington and says he has received information on water rates, as well as other related files and information.

“Can they take us on?” Dillon asked.

“That’s a good question,” Woodmansee responded. “We need to tell them how much water we need… they’re actively looking at doing something with their old water plant, to drill another well and add capacity. If that’s a possibility, they want to know that from us so they have the right capacity when they do that plant upgrade.”

In other business:
• Bullock stated that some ammunition that the department ordered several months ago had finally been shipped in and that the invoice had been paid for his car computer, meaning that it should be received soon.

• Clerk-Treasurer Laury Powell reminded council that the trash contract for Andrews was set to be renewed in the spring of 2022. She stated that she had contacted attorney Mike Hartburg to see if the town could include something in the contract for picking up large items. Currently, there is a large town-wide spring clean up that takes place. A suggestion of having a large item pick-up day included once a month was mentioned.

• During his department report, Utility Superintendent Collin Bullock shared that he will be planting eight trees at the local park.