Despite financial gridlock, University Park restores bridge
The pedestrian bridge in question, located on Van Buren Street and Wells Parkway (Mikayla Roberts/The Black Explosion).
After over seven years, University Park has restored the pedestrian bridge off Van Buren Street and Wells Parkway.
The bridge was one of a number of projects that have taken years to complete in this town.
The restoration began with its removal on Nov. 17, 2016, after structural engineers notified the town that the bridge could give out at any time and recommended that it be closed, according to former Mayor Len Carey. The bridge was reopened on March 28. The town will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 18 to mark the opening.
The stream that goes underneath this bridge, Wells Run, is considered part of the Waters of the United States. On top of the county and state jurisdiction, the Army Corps of Engineers also has jurisdiction according to Mayor Joel Biermann. Getting permits from all three jurisdictions made the process longer, Biermann went on to explain.
“But even though that was a big hurdle, that doesn't explain the whole delay. I mean, a big part of the delay was the council's unwillingness to pay for it. That's basically what the majority of the delay was,” Biermann said regarding the 2019 council vote.
“If there was ever a vote that I wish I could do over it was this one,” said Laurie Morrissey, Ward 3 councilwoman and uncontested mayoral candidate in the May 7 election. Morrissey said she voted no to the $160,000 estimate months before the pandemic.
All of the construction materials doubled in price, according to Morrissey. “We didn't know any of that was gonna happen. If I had known any of it, I would have voted yes,” Morrissey said.
“Part of the council's job is to be wise stewards of the funds … I mean, were we being too conservative? Maybe,” said Morrissey.
“Unexpected delays in construction can be understood. With the speed hump, I think the issue was more a matter of will, not necessarily running into issues with construction or delays in permitting or things like that. It was just we had council members who didn't want to do it or were against it,” said Jenna Beveridge, a 12-year resident of Van Buren.
In 2016, one of the cars in Beveridge’s driveway was hit by a driver speeding down the hill. At the time, she had two 5-year-old daughters who played in the yard that she worried would be hit by oncoming traffic.
In October 2018, Ward 7 residents signed a letter requesting a speed bump on the 4000 block of Van Buren, according to Beveridge and her neighbors, Michelle Murphy and Eric Moy.
This car accident photo is courtesy of Jenna Beveridge.
After Biermann and Ward 7 Councilman Bill Sweet took office in May 2022, Van Buren got the speed bump, a traffic speed monitor that notifies drivers of their speed and a reduced speed limit. These decisions were not brought to a council vote. The data collected by the town did not support the notion that speeding was a problem on the block.
“If we did every single thing that a resident asked for, we would probably run out of money and resources … And this was done because a couple of people wanted it even though it wasn't supported by the data,” said Morrissey.
“I am personally of the mind that, if people on a particular street want something, you give it to them. The default is you give it to them. And why do I think that because local government, that's the closest to home. If people can't see their own tax dollars going to work for them, what's the incentive to continue paying these taxes,” said Biermann.
The University Park Town Hall, as of March 7 (Mikayla Roberts/The Black Explosion).
Residents have expressed fears of increasing taxes to fund town hall renovations. According to Biermann, the town should be able to take on the renovation without impacting taxpayers at all by being fiscally conservative and doing things for less than $3 million.
The renovations began on Feb. 23, 2009, with a published study by local architecture firm AHMANN, LLC assessing the cost of expanding the building. There was no action following the study for almost 10 years.
In November 2018, the town commissioned another study from Arnold & Arnold, LLC to assess the building’s needs and provide four renovation options. The estimates cost $4.1 million to $4.8 million.
The council then rejected the proposal because of the price. This year the town contracted Frederick Ward Associates, who gave more options ranging from $2.1 million to $2.5 million.
“I know that there was no appetite in the town for spending $4 to $5 million on town hall. Okay, message received. I don't need to host multiple town halls on the discussion of town hall,” said Biermann.
“The first step of getting something done is making it a priority and putting money for it in your budget. You can figure out the nuts and bolts of a project later on down the road. You don't need to do that right now. I see with council members that there is this appetite to define all the parameters of a project ... And for me, it goes into that bucket of analysis paralysis.”
“From my perspective, it is not analysis paralysis, and I know that happens. But … we can't put out and post a request for proposals without the mayor, and the attorney and the town administrator basically signing off on it. So if anyone has said it's the council's fault, that's not true. It just isn't,” said Morrissey. There has been a lack of prioritization from the mayor, she said.
“What I have done as mayor is I have empowered other people to continue moving this forward. Okay. I am not the roadblock … I have been a facilitator, and we've been pushing this forward,” said Biermann.
Frederick Ward Associates has presented the town with three options for the renovation. The town has agreed to likely move forward with one, according to Biermann.
“The question for the next mayor is going to be, can you make the bold decisions to execute on the way forward or are you going to succumb to analysis paralysis and allow this process to continue taking many years? I know what I would do. I would be moving dirt within the next two years. But I'm not going to be the mayor anymore,” said Biermann.