VALPARAISO | As part of the agreement between the city and the Indiana Department of Transportation turning over care of Lincolnway to the city, the state promised the city a snow plow to help with the maintenance.
City Attorney David Hollenbeck told the city's Board of Public Works and Safety on Thursday the impression was the snow plow would be free. Provisions in the state law prohibit the state from just giving the plow to the city, but it can lease it to them. The 14-page lease for the plow Hollenbeck presented to the board calls for payment of $1.
Hollenbeck said the only issue yet to be resolved with the state is the length of the lease. He said INDOT is providing a 5-year-old plow, and the lease is for 10 years, after which time the city can dispose of it or trade it in. Hollenbeck said that would mean the truck would be 15 years old, which is a long life for a piece of equipment like that.
The board approved the lease pending an agreement with INDOT to reduce the length of the lease to five years. Public Works Director Matt Evans said he will be able to pick up the truck from INDOT's LaPorte District compound as soon as the lease is signed by both parties.
The agreement for the maintenance of Lincolnway provided the city with $2 million in addition to the $22.5 million the city is getting for improvements to the U.S. 30 corridor. The $2 million was placed in the city's Rainy Day Fund, but Clerk Treasurer Sharon Swihart said she's not worried about using any of it to pay the snow plow lease.
"I might just pay the $1 out of my pocket," Swihart said. "Or Matt might pay it."
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