OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Columbus Indiana Board of Works Meeting - February 10, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, February 10, 2026
BodyColumbus, Indiana
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, February 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 14:27

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Mary Ferdan, I'm here.

0:02

Sorry, I'm out of order because Melanie Henderson isn't here.

0:05

Eric Fry.

0:07

Alrighty.

0:07

So there's four out of five.

0:09

We're got a quorum.

0:10

Um that's not the proper way to do it, by the way.

0:13

I'm sorry.

0:15

All righty.

0:16

Um first uh next step is approval of the February 3rd, 2026 meeting minutes.

0:22

I'll move to approve.

0:23

I'll second.

0:23

We have a motion and a second to approve the meeting minutes as presented.

0:26

All in favor, please signify by saying aye.

0:29

Aye, opposed, same sign.

0:30

Motion carries.

0:35

And I don't see Beth Ann Knott, so I guess we're stuck with it.

0:39

Director Matt and Dudowitz.

0:42

Who is presenting the 2026 ADA policy updates?

0:47

I am not Beth Ann Knott's um, but I can stand in if need be.

0:52

Good morning, Mary.

0:53

Good morning, Mayor.

0:54

Good morning, board.

0:55

Um today I present to you our updated Americans with Disability Act uh plan.

1:02

Um it's one that we annually do every year.

1:04

The most significant changes are on page four, where we're describing changes to our services for the upcoming uh March 23rd uh routes that we're changing to.

1:15

Um so we've updated our our verbiage from routes to loops.

1:19

Uh we've updated the equipment numbers, and we updated the number of passengers uh that we served in 2025, which was uh about a five and a half, six percent increase over last year, and up to two hundred and forty-two thousand people were moved in 2025.

1:34

Um, and then on page five, you'll see there's a new map of the uh loops that we'll be implementing March the 23rd.

1:41

So um any questions, I'd be happy to entertain and answer.

1:45

So the this is just the ADA policy update.

1:48

We'll probably ask you to come back to Board of Works the first of March and give us a little bit more with the board a little bit more description about all the changes.

1:56

Happy to do so.

1:57

Yeah, we uh when we were at that go ahead, John.

2:00

You just mentioned when did those go in effect?

2:02

Um March the 23rd.

2:03

Okay, yep.

2:04

So we have been for months now planning uh by which to do this exciting change, and uh we're now no longer at the 50,000 foot level, but my team is actually designing uh bus stops and posts in the ground and training for drivers and communication to the community.

2:21

It's uh it's exciting times.

2:22

So from now to March, uh it's straight ahead.

2:25

Uh everyone's gonna be excited.

2:28

Great.

2:28

So well, I will move to approve uh uh 2026 ADA policy update.

2:35

I'll second.

2:36

So we have a motion and a second to approve the 2026 ADA policy update for uh Columbus Trans transportation as presented.

2:44

All in favor, please signify by saying aye.

2:46

Aye, opposed, same sign, motion carries.

2:52

Thank you.

2:54

Thank you.

2:54

Have a good day.

2:55

Thanks.

3:03

Um good morning, everybody.

3:04

Good morning.

3:05

Here is basically just to approve the emergency action that I took due to the fire at uh 1462 um chestnut.

3:14

Okay, and it's just the you know, just request the approval of the emergency action for the comp for the combination of the property reference, you know, at the 1462 chestnut.

3:25

Uh this time I'm not ordering demolished and or um uh taking any legal actions, you know, as long as the property owner does what they say they're gonna do.

3:37

Usually it takes about 30, maybe 45 days for them to get all the insurance back, get their money, this type of thing.

3:44

And I am working with the property owner, and he's been real reliable over the years for me, so I'm kind of leaving it that for now.

3:50

And that's I'm just curious when I drove by it.

3:53

Was someone living there?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████████████████43%
Disability Rights██████████████████18%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████████15%
Arts And Culture███████████11%
Budget Equity Analysis███████7%
Human Resources██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Columbus Indiana Board of Works Meeting - February 10, 2026

The Board of Works met on February 10, 2026, with four of five members present, constituting a quorum. The meeting covered routine approvals, policy updates, emergency actions, contract awards, and community announcements.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of February 3, 2026 Meeting Minutes: Approved unanimously.
  • Approval of 2026 ADA Policy Update: Presented by director Matt (standing in for Beth Ann Knott). Key changes include updating terminology from "routes" to "loops" for March 23 service changes, updated equipment numbers, and a reported 5.5-6% increase in ridership, moving 242,000 passengers in 2025. The policy update was approved unanimously.
  • Ratification of Emergency Action at 1462 Chestnut Street: The board ratified emergency code enforcement action taken due to a fire at 1462 Chestnut. The property owner is cooperating and plans to demolish or rebuild after insurance inspection. No demolition order was issued at this time. Approved unanimously.
  • Special Use of Right-of-Way: Approved for ATT, City Utilities, and Peterman Brothers. Approved unanimously.
  • Claims: Three dockets of claims approved unanimously.
  • Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statements: Accepted for Anne Welmer, Jason Major, Doug Van Kloppenberg, Alfred Tucker, Lisa Prentice, Mark Piller, and Brad Davis. Accepted unanimously.

Discussion Items

  • Award of 2026 Community Crossings Grant Contract: Engineering presented a bid award to Milestone Contractors for $1,356,050 for the 2026 Community Crossings grant project. The motion was approved unanimously. Discussion noted that low oil prices for asphalt may have contributed to competitive pricing.
  • Final Change Order for CRC 2505 - 225 West Area Improvements: A change order increase of $221,796.87 (20.3% over 20% limit) was approved. The increase was due to discovery of unsuitable, swamp-like material under the path during construction. The change order was approved unanimously.
  • Quote Opening for Bus Stop Completion at Nexus Park: Quotes were opened for concrete pad work to complete the bus shelter at Nexus Park. Bids: Dave O'Mara Contractor $74,866.50, Milestone Contractors $107,377, and Case Construction (apparent typo: $8,004,087). The quotes were taken under advisement.

Key Outcomes

  • All consent items and contracts were approved as presented.
  • The emergency action from code enforcement was ratified to facilitate property owner permitting.
  • Quotes for the Nexus Park bus stop completion will be reviewed and awarded later.
  • New employee Mariah Dyson was introduced to the board.
  • Community announcements: Final winter market on Saturday, February 14 (Valentine's Day) at the former Sears Building; President's Day closures on Monday, February 16 (regular trash collection still occurring); Chinese New Year celebration hosted by Columbus Chinese Association on Saturday at Columbus North High School (year of the horse).
  • Meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Mary Ferdan, I'm here. Sorry, I'm out of order because Melanie Henderson isn't here. Eric Fry. Alrighty. So there's four out of five. We're got a quorum. Um that's not the proper way to do it, by the way. I'm sorry. All righty. Um first uh next step is approval of the February 3rd, 2026 meeting minutes. I'll move to approve. I'll second. We have a motion and a second to approve the meeting minutes as presented. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye, opposed, same sign. Motion carries. And I don't see Beth Ann Knott, so I guess we're stuck with it. Director Matt and Dudowitz. Who is presenting the 2026 ADA policy updates? I am not Beth Ann Knott's um, but I can stand in if need be. Good morning, Mary. Good morning, Mayor. Good morning, board. Um today I present to you our updated Americans with Disability Act uh plan. Um it's one that we annually do every year. The most significant changes are on page four, where we're describing changes to our services for the upcoming uh March 23rd uh routes that we're changing to. Um so we've updated our our verbiage from routes to loops. Uh we've updated the equipment numbers, and we updated the number of passengers uh that we served in 2025, which was uh about a five and a half, six percent increase over last year, and up to two hundred and forty-two thousand people were moved in 2025. Um, and then on page five, you'll see there's a new map of the uh loops that we'll be implementing March the 23rd. So um any questions, I'd be happy to entertain and answer. So the this is just the ADA policy update. We'll probably ask you to come back to Board of Works the first of March and give us a little bit more with the board a little bit more description about all the changes. Happy to do so. Yeah, we uh when we were at that go ahead, John. You just mentioned when did those go in effect? Um March the 23rd. Okay, yep. So we have been for months now planning uh by which to do this exciting change, and uh we're now no longer at the 50,000 foot level, but my team is actually designing uh bus stops and posts in the ground and training for drivers and communication to the community. It's uh it's exciting times. So from now to March, uh it's straight ahead. Uh everyone's gonna be excited. Great. So well, I will move to approve uh uh 2026 ADA policy update. I'll second. So we have a motion and a second to approve the 2026 ADA policy update for uh Columbus Trans transportation as presented. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye, opposed, same sign, motion carries. Thank you. Thank you. Have a good day.

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