by MATT HUGHES
J-E News Editor
On Monday night the Dixon Commission voted to pursue a $55,000 Land and Water Grant that would allow the city to refurbish much of the playground equipment at both of their city parks.
“Bourland Park doesn’t have any playground equipment,” said City Water Operator Jamie Harkins, who, along with City Clerk Peggy Poole, has been digging into the grant program. “We have a lot of ball games out there, so we thought we could use something for the smaller kids.”
Harkins estimated the playground equipment would cost the city around $6,000.
He also presented the commission with some recommendations for Baker Park. According to Harkins, the 5,000 foot asphalt walking trail was in desperate need of repair.
“It’s in bad shape,” he said. “I’m afraid that if we have another winter like we just had, we will lose a lot of that trail.”
Harkins spoke with Green River Paving, the company that paved the walking trail the last time. A company spokesperson estimated that they could repave the entire trail for $38-40,000.
The same company estimated that it could redo the tennis courts at Bourland Park for around $9,000.
This particular grant is a 50/50 grant, meaning the city is responsible for matching however much they are awarded. The grant application is due in by April 30, and must include a detailed and prioritized list of things that the city intends to do.
Dixon Commission will be holding a public hearing on Friday, April 25 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss and finalize plans for this application. Residents interested in expressing their opinions on what needs to be repaired should attend that meeting.
The commission voted to purchase a new zero-turn mower and weedeater to be used for mowing the city parks. The total purchase price was $5,800.
In other business, Mayor Linda Frederick told the commission that the city had recently received a letter notifying them that the state had adopted Federal Highway Administration (FHW) standards on traffic control signs, also known as the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
The new standards will mean an update to all traffic control signs, ranging from simple street marking signs to stop signs, all at the city’s expense.
“All signs now have to be retro-reflective,” Harkins explained. Regulatory signs, such as speed limit signs and stop signs must be updated by January of 2015. We have until January of 2018 to update street signs.”
Harkins estimated the total cost of sinage to be around $2,800.
The commission voted to accept the standards and allow Harkins to replace the signs at his leisure.
On a motion by commissioner Donna Keller, the commission voted to put the invocation back on the agenda for the May meeting. Last year the commission passed an ordinance restricting prayer at their monthly meetings after receiving a recommendation from the Kentucky League of Cities.
Briefly the commission went into a closed session for personnel reasons, but returned to regular session with nothing to report.