Bethel City Council is starting to get their infrastructure ducks in a row. This week, council voted unanimously to put a five-year capital improvement plan into action.
Bethel City Manager Peter Williams presented an updated list of infrastructure projects for the Bethel City Council, starting with things needed this year and next.
“I wasn’t sure how we wanted to go about this,” said Williams. “Everything I’ve underlined, I’ve added.”
None of the new items on the list are big and splashy. They may appear small, but they can make a big difference to the city. Things like fire alarm electrical work, a steamer to keep culverts along city streets free of ice and snow, and a new boiler for the Public Works building are some of the priorities on the list.
“Those are all things that we need, basically, yesterday,” Williams said.
The list also includes a new police department dispatch console.
“I found out today that normally there’s a service contract that goes with those consoles, and it’s so old they don’t really bother servicing it,” said Williams.
Wasting no time, council member Raymond “Thor” Williams greased the tracks to move repairs and replacements forward.
“I move to amend Action Memorandum 18-63, delete the wording that is stated, and state that the city council directs the City Manager to come up with a budget modification for the fire alarm panel, strobes, horns, steamer for the streets and roads, and the police dispatch center console for the next city council meeting,” he said.
After the amendment passed unanimously, City Attorney Patty Burley recommended that the city incorporate the capital improvement plan into the budget process to help attract more grant funding for future needs.
“It’s very common for most municipalities to review that as another budget tool,” said Burley. “So I would strongly recommend that this council perhaps start thinking of that as we move forward with amending our code.”
The updated capital improvement plan passed unanimously, with Mayor Richard Robb and council member Brian Henry absent.