New locker rooms and a concession area will be built at the Edinburgh Aquatic Center. SCOTT ROBERSON | DAILY JOURNAL
SCOTT ROBERSON | DAILY JOURNAL
Edinburgh town leaders are planning more than $7 million in projects next year to spur growth and renew neglected infrastructure.
The bulk of that — $5.6 million — will fund a new water plant that will replace the 1997-built plant that has been due for an upgrade for more than five years, said Bill Jones, Edinburgh’s water superintendent.
The new plant will increase the town’s water capacity to 2.1 million gallons per day from 1.4 million gallons, with the ability to expand to 2.8 million gallons with an additional filter and pump. The town uses about 700,000 gallons per day, so there is plenty of room for commercial, housing and industrial growth, Jones said.
Once the new plant is built, the town will be able to discontinue the use of sodium permanganate, a chemical that is being added to Edinburgh’s water to treat higher-than-normal iron and manganese contents that turned the town’s water brown in 2020. The current plant is no longer able to effectively treat those chemicals because the aged filtration system cannot be repaired, he said.
“The old plant was built in 1997, and plants are designed to last 15 to 20 years, so it is past that age now,” Jones said. “It is still a good plant, but the filter media wasn’t doing what it needed to do.”
The old plant, located at 308 N. Walnut Street, will be converted to a storage building. The new plant will be built next door and continue to pull the town’s water supply from a groundwater well located on site, he said.
The town received a $700,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Rural and Community Affairs for the new plant, and will finance the rest of the project with a State Revolving Fund loan, Jones said.
Construction is expected to start next year. Depending on supply chain issues, the plant is likely to be finished sometime in 2023.
The town is also working on a $1.6 million reconstruction of High School Drive. The project stretches the length of the road from U.S. 31 to Eisenhower Drive, and includes new storm sewers, sidewalks, lighting and a fully reconstructed roadway, said Dan Cartwright, town manager.
The town will contribute about $220,905, while the Indiana Department of Transportation will cover the other $883,621 through the state’s Community Crossings Matching Grant program. Last year, the town was awarded $600,000 from the federal Community Development Block Grant program for stormwater upgrades on High School Drive, a main gateway into Edinburgh.
Paving for the project is expected to be completed next spring, Cartwright said.
The town is also investing about $500,000 to renovate the concession stand and locker rooms at Edinburgh Aquatic Center. Existing amenities have not been updated since the pool was built and no longer meet ADA requirements, he said.
The goal is to start and finish construction next spring. If a contractor is unable to do the work in the spring, the project will be scheduled in the fall after next year’s pool season, Cartwright said.
The projects planned next year are just the beginning. There is more growth on the horizon.
Edinburgh’s population — unlike other local cities and towns in Johnson county — has been shrinking since the 1970s, and town officials are looking to turn that around, Cartwright said.
With 100 lots still available for buyers in the subdivision on the Timber Gate Golf Course, and companies expressing interest in expanding the town’s industrial park, town officials want to invest in the town to facilitate that growth, he said.
“My goal is to get the town up to speed and prepare for growth,” Cartwright said. “We are also lucky to have a pro-development town council.”
Additional preparations are also underway in the form of a town hall expansion and a new fire station. Both projects are in the design phase, and engineer’s estimates are not yet available, he said.
At the town hall, renovations will include new ADA restrooms and a larger public meeting room for the Edinburgh Town Council. The current meeting room doesn’t have much seating, and most seats are filled by town employees who attend to give reports to the council, Cartwright said.
Design of the new fire station is about 60% complete. Construction is expected to begin sometime next year, he said.
The new fire station will be located on County Road 900 South, the town’s southern boundary. The location was chosen because Edinburgh’s fire territory extends south of the town limits, Cartwright said.
A new electric substation will be built on the same property, next to the fire station, he said.
The town will also work on its comprehensive plan next year. The process will include public input meetings, Cartwright said.
“It is part of us being prepared for growth,” he said. “We are expecting growth in Edinburgh and we need to be prepared for it.”
