Text Box: August 2008 Text Box: STREET REPAIR PROPOSAL ANTICIPATES $550,000 COST By Tom Helf A proposal received from the town’s consulting engineers for street repairs anticipates the cost of the project to be in the neighborhood of $550,000. In addition to the cost of carrying out the street repairs, A. Morton Thomas and Associates, Inc.will charge the town around $28,000 for its consulting services, which include preparing the street repair plans and contract documents, advertising and procuring the bids for the actual work, and monitoring and inspecting the work through completion. The town council anticipates deciding on the proposal at its August meeting. In the meantime, Councilmember Robin Kogelnik will be contacting the Thomas company to request additional information on the bidding process. Specifically, the council wants to ensure that, once the project is put out for bids, the town can elect to proceed with some, but not all of the work described in the Thomas company proposal. Councilmember Kogelnik also will endeavor to get the Thomas company to clarify, and possibly reduce, the fees it will be charging the town for its services. As previously reported in The Echo, the town has budgeted approximately $400,000 for street repairs, considerably less than the amount anticipated by the Thomas company. Text Box: TOWN PRESSING ISSUE OF OXFORD ROAD OWNERSHIP By Tom Helf The Glen Echo Town Council at its July 14 meeting approved a revised draft of a letter its attorney Norman Knopf will be sending to the National Park Service requesting the U.S. Government’s agreement that Oxford Road is town property. The letter will be sent to the acting Park Service superintendent John James. Councilmember Nancy Long suggested that the town wait until a new Regional Director is appointed, since she thought it likely that the letter would not be acted upon until then. Glen Echo Park site manager Kym Elder, who participated in the council’s discussion of the letter, offered her opinion that the letter should be sent now, with a copy to the office of Maria Lurie, the NPS attorney with authority over Glen Echo Park. Among other things, the lingering ownership issue will delay the necessary improvements to Oxford Road, a possible reconfiguration of the park entrance, and the town’s efforts to thwart the speeders and stop-sign runners.

 

next town council meeting

 

Monday,  August 11 —8:00 p.m.

Glen Echo Town Hall

Contact the clerk-treasurer to add an item to the agenda