Virtue Road improvements get 5-0 BOMA nod for $769,000
Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen took another step on the Virtue/Boyd Station Road project when it voted unanimously to approve a contract with LDA Engineering Inc. to provide engineering services to develop improvements on the Virtue/Boyd Station Road project during its meeting Thursday, April 27.
The cost of the services comes to $769,000, leaving $23,000 in the project budget.
“Back in September, you approved a contract with Tennessee Department of Transportation for development of the Virtue Road Phase II project,” Town engineer Darryl Smith said. “That is to pick up where we stopped on Phase I, which is 1,200 feet south of Needlegrass — that’s Brookmere Subdivision — to start there and go all the way to Boyd Station, turning 1,200 feet on Boyd Station to Willow Cove Way.
“All told, it’s a little over a mile of reconstruction of roadway,” he added. “I think there’s 1,750 feet and 2,000 feet of shared-use greenway.
“We’re going to be extending the greenway from Evans Road down to the Grove subdivision, where they’re going to be tying a greenway into the subdivision. Eventually, it will go all the way to McFee Road.”
On another road-related agenda item, the Board voted unanimously to approve a bid from APAC-Atlantic to resurface various Town streets for $901,943.25.
“In the spring, we put together a list of roads we’re going to (fix) for this year based on what we see at that time,” Smith said. “Of course, that list was made to try to stay in budget.”
Besides APAC, he said the Town received the following other bids: Duracap Asphalt Co. Inc., $1,012,460.32; PRI of East Tennessee Inc., $977,956; and Rogers Group Inc., $1,335,000.“APAC-Atlantic has completed our resurfacing many times in the past,” Smith said. “We’ve always been happy to work with them.
“What do you think the state of our roads are in the manner we’re keeping up with them?” Alderman Drew Burnette asked the Town engineer
“I think, overall, our network is in good condition,” Smith answered. “I think we’re going to have to start doing more. This year, we’re resurfacing about 4 1/2 lane miles. We need to do quite a few more than that.
“How many miles would you recommend?” Burnette asked.
“Right now, we have a little over 300 lane miles of roadway,” Smith said. “You figure 20-25 years life expectancy between resurfacing, that comes to something closer to 15-16 miles.”
“I keep saying we’ve had a ton of new neighborhoods come on line in the late ’80s and early ’90s and that’s going to bite us in our butt if we don’t come on top of that,” Vice Mayor Louise Povlin said.
“With the increase in traffic load, the cut-through traffic and with the amount of new people we have moving in, I think we’re going to have to get ahead of it,” Mayor Ron Williams said. “So, I hope the next time you come to us, t will be showing an increase in our paving.”
In other action:
• Mayor Ron Williams read a proclamation declaring National Crime Victims Rights Week Sunday, April 23, through Saturday, April 29;
• Vice Mayor Louise Povlin read a proclamation for Professional Municipal Clerk’s Week Sunday, April 30, through Saturday, May 6;
• Unanimously approved, on first reading, amendments to Ordinance 23-06, Chapter 105, in the municipal code to extend expiration time for certain permits, correct clerical errors in the ordinance.
• Unanimously approved, on second reading, an amendment to Ordinance 23-04 to amend the FY 2023 Capital Investment Program and State Street Aid budgets by increasing CIP expenditures from $14,824,000 to $15,024,000 — a $200,000 increase — to complete the Little Turkey Creek Greenway project, as well as $50,000 to make baseball field improvements in Mayor Bob Leonard Park. The Board also voted to add $854,000 to the FY 2023 State Street Aid Fund to resurface roads.
• Unanimously approved a contract with Pugh CPA to perform the Town’s annual financial and compliance audit for the next three years for the amounts of $24,500 for 2023, $25,500 for 2024 and $26,500 for 2025.
