RICHFIELD — A six year capital improvement plan, covering 2014-19, was unanimously approved by the Village Board at its monthly meeting Thursday.
“We’ve done this kind of planning before,” Village President John Jeffords said. “But this is more organized and more transparent. Everything is there in black and white.”
“This is the second year we’ve followed this process to put this plan together,” Interim Village Administrator Jim Healy said. “In putting this together we were striving to follow the best possible practices.”
Capital improvements projects called for this year includes roadway improvements on Willow Creek Road from Scenic Road to Colgate Road, as well as improvements on Hubertus Road from South Mayfield Road to North Townline Road. Capital purchases planned yet for 2014 include the replacement of 12 windows at the Department of Public Works building with commercial aluminum windows and the purchase of a plow truck.
The village had intended to replace a plow truck with a new truck yet this year. But those plans have changed as part of the capital improvement plan. A new plow truck will still be purchased yet this year, but the old one will not be traded in, but retained by the village. By doing this the village can add one more winter snow plowing route so village roads and highways can be cleared faster during inclement weather.
According to the plan approved by the board, capital improvement projects and purchases planned for 2015 include:
■ Replacement of Village Hall audio equipment at a cost of $10,000.
■ The purchase of 12 new computers to replace ones used in village offices at a cost of approximately $13,000.
■ The purchase of 10 new voting machines. The machines cost about $10,000 a piece. The village will have to pay the total cost for one of the machines and then will share the cost for the other machines with the county. The village would pay 20 percent of the cost for each of the other new machines for a total expenditure by the village on the new machines of an estimated $28,000.
■ Bleachers for Heritage Park youth sports activities at a cost of $5,000.
■ Road improvements on Scenic Road at an estimated cost of slightly less than $500,000, on Hogsback Road for about $220,000 and Basswood Lane at a cost of approximately $33,000. The village would also pay $25,000 as its share of the cost for improvements on Highway 175. The remainder of the cost would be paid by the state.
Some of the projects or purchases proposed in the plan for the remainder of the six-year plan include work and improvements at Heritage Park, more road improvements, the purchase of two new plow trucks, improvements on other village roads and the purchase of various other pieces of equipment.