The Vandalia City Council has agreed to move ahead with the engineering work for the Thrill Hill Bridge project, and hopes that other funds will free up to have the bridge repaired. The Vandalia City Council approved a cost of just over $50,000 for the engineering work to be performed by Hurst Rosche Engineers. Mayor Rick Gottman says they do have the funding to take care of the engineering fees. Gottman says they have saved money eliminating part of the downtown project at 4th and Johnson Streets—so as to not have to make that steep corner ADA accessible—and they can use that extra funding for the engineering for this project. In order to make that corner ADA accessible it would cost the city millions of dollars to get the project done. Gottman says the city will pay 20 percent of the cost for the engineering. As for the remaining cost of the project, Gottman has stated on multiple occasions in the past the city does not have the money right now to move forward with the bridge repairs. The bridge, which is just off U.S. Route 51 just north of town, has been out for quite some time and has barricaded off to traffic.
The Vandalia Police Department will purchase a new squad car and will use mostly the DUI funds to pay for the vehicle. The Vandalia City Council approved the purchase of a new 2015 Chevy Impala squad car from Arthur Young Chevrolet at a cost of $22,382. The City will use $20,000 from the DUI fund with the remaining amount to come out of the general fund.
The new water meters are being changed out around the City of Vandalia. Gottman also stated they discovered the new meters wouldn’t work with the computer system the city currently has, but Gottman says the company is picking up the cost for the upgrade.