Latest news with #ThomasBroderickJr.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New playground dedicated at Pulaski Park
ANDERSON — General Pulaski Park has been a part of the city of Anderson since 1930, and it recently received a $327,000 upgrade to the playground. Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. said during a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday that in the early 1900s, a large Polish community located in the area. The city received a $91,500 grant from GameTime for the new playground equipment. The equipment is designed so that children with physical disabilities can climb the tower and use the attached slides. Residents will see new playground features, including the multi-level tower, new slides, climbing apparatuses, stand-alone spinners, walkways, new swings, and a variety of activity centers. The slide, donated by the Anderson Rotary in 2018 in honor of 100 years of service to the city's youth, will remain as a feature of the park's play area. 'This park is a popular attraction,' Broderick said. 'It has a walking trail, fish pond, basketball, tennis and pickleball courts.' He said the planned upgrades include an improvements to the restroom facilities at the park. Broderick said the city has purchased equipment for a park upgrade in the Meadowbrook area to be completed this summer. 'It takes a team effort,' he said. 'We have expanded the footprint of this park for added equipment.' Tom Tackett, maintenance supervisor for the Anderson Parks Department, said the playground equipment is known as the 'Dallas Dazzler,' which was on display at a national trade show. He said the city has worked with May and May, which has done installations of equipment on seven upgraded city parks recently. 'This is a heavily used park,' Tackett said. Kenny Davenport, a member of the Anderson Park Board, said the board has been active in pursuing park improvements. 'Ther is no greater joy than to see the playground for the kids to use,' he said. Broderick said the city has upgraded 25 of its 30 parks over the past nine years. He said the Park Department has an annual budget of $3.5 million, which at one time was only $800,000. Last year the city put in new equipment at Shadyside Park and the Geater Center, utilizing a grant opportunity.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Despite negative opinions, Anderson going forward with water rate plans
ANDERSON — Although the Indiana Utility Consumer Counselor has issued multiple opinions concerning Anderson's water rate case, city officials intend to move forward with their plans. In three different opinions, the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor questioned the validity of the city's plans for the water department. One opinion recommended the requested rate increase be reduced from 121% over five years to 75%. The last water rate increase was approved by the state in 2015. If approved, the rate for an average residential customer is expected to increase from $23.51 to $55.25 starting in 2029. Large customers of the water utility will see an increase from $117,772 monthly to $434,171 starting in 2029. A second opinion stated that Anderson didn't need to build a new treatment plant and well field in south Anderson, noting that the current system loses 20% of the water. The third opinion stated that instead of a $130 million project, the city's funding request for the projects should be $102 million. Last year, the Anderson City Council approved $130 million in bonds over the next three years. The council has already approved $9 million in American Rescue Plan funds, and the Anderson Redevelopment Commission is providing $19 million toward the project. All the work is scheduled to be completed by September 2029, with work on the initial phase starting in later this year. Anderson officials have responded to the opinions and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has a hearing set for May 8. 'There is a legal process for acquiring approval from the IURC,' Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. said. 'This includes a built-in mechanism for another bureaucratic agency, the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, that acts, for the lack of a better description, as the 'loyal opposition' to petitions.' Broderick said the IURC is not bound to accept the opinions or positions of the consumer counselor. 'This is a process,' he said. 'These are opinions from people who don't know much about Anderson. 'They are dead wrong about the plant on the south side,' Broderick said. 'We're committed to move forward.' Broderick said the existing Wheeler Avenue plant is 75 years old and that the wells supplying water to the plant are in a federal 'super fund' site and production has dropped by 50%. 'We have already made a lot of internal hard choices,' he said. 'We want to be fair to the rate payers.' Broderick said shutting down the Wheeler Avenue plant will take care of many problems. 'You can't replace 400 miles of pipes overnight,' he said. 'Many of them have been in place for over 100 years.' Broderick said the city is in the process of expanding the Lafayette water treatment plant to handle 14 million gallons of water per day, and additional property has been purchased for new wells to supply the plant. 'We all know the growth is coming up Interstate 69 and more people and businesses will be coming to Anderson,' he said. 'We want to meet those requirements. It's important to me that we don't do anything that keeps people from coming to Anderson.' Broderick said the city has contracted to purchase property for new well fields and a treatment plant in south Anderson.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Anderson gets bids for repaving work
ANDERSON — The Anderson Board of Public Works has taken under advisement bids for three paving projects this year. The board Tuesday received four bids for contract paving this year with an estimate by City Engineer Matt House of $536,419. DC Construction submitted the low bid of $562,692 with a bid by Howard Companies of $637,311, a bid of $722,181 from E&B Paving and a bid of $779,070 from Rudig Paving. DC Construction was the low bidder on the city's 2025 Community Crossings matching grant fund for paving. Howard Companies bid $2,989,488, and E&B Paving bid $3,872,766. House's estimate for the work was $3,028,000. Anderson received $1.5 million from the state and will provide matching funds. Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. previously said funds received by the city will be used as part of a planned $5 million paving program in 2025. Broderick noted that Anderson has received $10 million since the program was implemented by the state in 2016. 'This is great news for Anderson,' he said. 'This early grant notification will allow us to hit the ground running this spring and summer.' The estimate for concrete paving work is $321,287. Boerner's Cutting Edge submitted the low bid of $300,484, followed by bids of $303,594 by DC Construction; $370,310 from Edward & Jones Concrete; Concrete Specialties bid $331,199 and Howard Company's bid was $825,544. OTHER BUSINESS The board approved a resolution transferring property owned by the Anderson Community Development Department to Aspire Indiana. The property at 718 W. 17th St. will be used for transitional housing. Aspire Indiana was granted $900,000 in American Rescue Plan funding by Anderson to address the city's homeless population needs. The board also approved the transfer of 2122 Fletcher St., a vacant property, to Pathstone for the construction of a third single family residence in the area.
