Bedford Board of Works: Emergency repairs to begin on city hall

Carol Johnson, The Times-Mail
·4 min read
Bedford Mayor Sam Craig swears in B. Garrett Scherschel, as a new member of the Bedford Fire Department Monday during a meeting of the Bedford Board of Works and Safety.
Bedford Mayor Sam Craig swears in B. Garrett Scherschel, as a new member of the Bedford Fire Department Monday during a meeting of the Bedford Board of Works and Safety.

BEDFORD — Emergency repairs are set to begin this Saturday on the west side of Bedford City Hall where rain water has caused bricks to separate from the structure.

McIntyre Bros. was authorized to do the repairs Monday during a meeting of the Bedford Board of Works & Safety at City Concourse.

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The estimated cost is about $8,550, but may end up costing less. Bedford Mayor Sam Craig said the estimate includes $2,000 in case testing and removal of lead paint are necessary.

Craig told board members Charlene Hall and Judy Carlisle that water has seeped in behind the bricks. Craig said the water damage has been an issue for some time and the city has a plan to do tuck pointing and repaint city hall in 2022, but when a brick was dislodged from the building it prompted Craig to speed up the timeline.

"Without a doubt, we need some emergency repairs done at city hall," he said.

In addition to the loose bricks, a chimney cap was removed after the city inspector found it to be loose.

To date, the city has not been able to secure bids for the major renovation and that has delayed the work.

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"Hopefully, next year we can get a major renovation on the outside of city hall.

Bedford City Hall, also known as the Malott House, dates back to 1850.

White River Port Authority

Craig, a member of the White River Port Authority, informed Hall and Carlisle that the White River Port Authority, created in 2010, is taking legal steps to explore disbanding.

He said since CSX is no longer operating rail service on the rail line and there are plans to have the rail taken up from New Albany to north of Mitchell to create a pedestrian trail, there is no longer an opportunity to re-establish rail service in Lawrence County.

The port authority was created as an effort to save two railways: the tracks that connected Bedford to Mitchell and the one-mile loop that served Bedford. The move by the port authority to buy the railroad sections came after the railroad companies petitioned the Surface Transportation Board in 2009 to abandon the rails.

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Craig received approval to engage with the law firm of Fletcher & Sippel for a fee not to exceed $5,000.

"We are exploring whether disbanding is the appropriate action to take or not, if that is the appropriate action, how that will be approached and guide the port authority on that," he said.

In addition to Craig, members of the port authority are Larry Parsons, Bedford City Councilman Larry Hardman, Mitchell Mayor JD England and Lawrence County Economic Development Director Shance Sizemore.

According to a Times-Mail story from 2011, the city paid $100,000 for the rights, based on the salvage value of the track. The goal of the port authority was to give the cities of Bedford and Mitchell the capability to preserve rail transportation. Indiana Rail Road worked with Dan Terrell, who was mayor of Mitchell, and Shawna Girgis, Bedford mayor at the time, on the transfer. Indiana Rail Road donated the property; the city paid for the track.

New firefighters

Bedford Mayor Sam Craig swears in Reid Marlow as a new member of the Bedford Fire Department during a meeting of the Bedford Board of Works & Safety Monday.
Bedford Mayor Sam Craig swears in Reid Marlow as a new member of the Bedford Fire Department during a meeting of the Bedford Board of Works & Safety Monday.

Two new members of the Bedford Fire Department had their official swearing in by Craig.

B. Garrett Scherschel and Reid L. Marlow are the newest members of the department. The board also approved hiring Tristen M. Sites as a firefighter.

Street closings for Christmas parade

The board approved several street closures on Dec. 4 for Christmas Around the Square, which will include an open air vendor market, food trucks, live reindeer and pictures with Santa Claus followed by the annual Christmas parade at 6 p.m.

Sarah Turpen, member of Bedford Revitalization Inc., which sponsors Christmas requested that one block of J Street in front of Harp Commons be closed from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 4. Activities will take place from 2-7 p.m.

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Other streets she requested be closed include M Street between 12th and 15th streets from 3-6 p.m., 15th Street between M and O streets from 3-6 p.m. and 16th Street and 15th Street between M and I streets from 5:30 -7:30 p.m.

All requests were approved.

Other business

  • The board also approved changing a parking space outside Hauck House from two-hour parking to a loading/drop-off zone.

  • It also approved three minor subdivision requests. Plan Director Brandon Woodward said requests were made by Angela Turner for a parcel on River Bluff Road, Love City Sunset LLC for 1417-1425 24th Street and Garrett Thompson for a lot on 22nd Street. All three requests were previously approved at a public hearing before the Bedford Plan Commission. Woodward said letters were sent to all adjacent property owners and he received no objections to the requests.

Contact Times-Mail Staff Writer Carol Johnson at cjohnson@tmnews.com or 812-277-7252.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Bedford City Hall set for emergency repairs later this week