Phillips board plans for park upgrade

The Village of Phillips is set to move forward with plans to upgrade the town’s George Jensen Memorial Park on West Street. At the October meeting of the village board last Tuesday, the trustees learned that two bids had been received to install a sprinkler system for irrigation in the park. 
Chairman Jim Crawford reported that the low bidder was from Cloudburst Sprinklers of Grand Island coming in at $28,850. He said the actual cost would be lower than that, however, because the company would use parts the village already has on hand. 
In addition to installing the sprinklers and upgrading the turf at the park, the trustees want to install a concrete walking path. Crawford said the cost of the concrete was estimated at about $36,000. 
The trustees also discussed having an arborist come in and look at the trees in the park to see which ones should be kept and which should be eliminated. 
Crawford noted that grant money was available to do the entire project and suggested it would be good to have the work done by spring so that the park could be re-seeded and have a good stand of grass by next summer. 
The board discussed putting together a master plan for the park and awarding bids at the November meeting. 
Another matter of discussion at the meeting was the part time summer maintenance worker hired to help utilities supt. Scott Hooley with mowing and other work this past summer. Trustee Dorothy Benton proposed that the village consider creating a year-round part time position for a maintenance worker who could eventually become a replacement for Hooley. Other members of the board agreed that having such a succession plan was a good idea, and the board said it would put the matter on the November agenda.
The board also discussed the village’s ongoing effort to get property owners to mow and otherwise clean up their lots. Crawford noted that after letters were sent out to the owners of blighted properties, most had complied and cleaned up their places, however, he said there was still one problem property. The board talked about changing villages ordinances to establish a system of fines for property owners who don’t take care of their lots. 
Under new business, the board held a hearing and approved the village’s One and Six Year Street Improvement Program that is required each year by the state Department of Transportation. Under the one year plan the board discussed paving one block sections of both streets at the corner of East Street and 5th Street. The board said the project was needed because this summer’s heavy rains have washed out the gravel on those streets. The engineer’s estimate for the project is $190,000. Engineer Larry Steele of Miller and Associates Engineering was present for the hearing and noted that most of Phillips’s gravel streets were “in pretty good shape” as compared to those of other towns he had seen.
During the fire department report at the top of the meeting, Phillips Fire Chief Justin Brandt reported that because of the recent dry conditions no open burn permits were being issued by the department. On the upside, however, the chief reported that the department had taken on five new members in the past month meaning that the department was now almost fully staffed.