OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Columbus Board of Works Meeting - September 1, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, September 1, 2026
BodyColumbus, Indiana
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, September 1, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 27:27

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

We want it off.

0:01

You want it solid.

0:02

Okay, so you guys want yours working so it doesn't pick up your thoughts.

0:09

Can it do that?

0:10

Can it pick up thoughts?

0:11

Oh, I'm in so much trouble.

0:15

Oh, you want them on?

0:16

I'm sorry.

0:17

Okay.

0:18

Good morning.

0:19

Today is September 1st.

0:20

Hard to believe we got here.

0:22

How do we get through the summer, unfortunately?

0:25

First up is roll call.

0:26

John Pickett.

0:27

I'm here.

0:27

When Sullivan here.

0:29

Eric Fry present.

0:30

And I am here and we'll serve as chair and Melancholy.

0:36

First up is approval of the August 25th meeting minutes.

0:41

I'm approaching approval.

0:42

Okay.

0:43

So the motion is second to approve the August meeting minutes as presents all in favor.

0:49

Aye.

0:50

Opposed same sign.

0:51

Motion carries.

0:52

Okay.

0:53

Paul, you are up with a couple of banner requests.

0:56

Okay.

0:58

Good morning, Mayor.

0:59

Good morning, board.

1:00

I do like you mentioned.

1:01

We have a couple of new banner requests.

1:03

We've never had these banners up before.

1:05

So have a couple of people here to kind of give us a little bit of background on what these represent and what they're there for.

1:12

First one I want to present to you is for the uh Columbus, Indiana Philharmonic.

1:16

Uh Rich Lord here.

1:17

Don't mind coming up.

1:18

Rich, just kind of tell us a little bit about the idea for the banner and your organization.

1:24

Uh yes, my name's Rich, and I am new with the Philharmonic.

1:28

I have been there for just a little over three months now.

1:31

And um, this is our 40th season that we are celebrating.

1:35

Our first concert is October 31st, and it's called Philharmonster.

1:40

And um and uh we are going to be performing at uh Columbus North High School as well as First Christian Church and St.

1:49

Peter's um Lutheran.

1:51

We are uh expecting attendance of average last year was roughly 500 um per show for our concerts.

1:59

And um we anticipate uh that again this year.

2:04

Um we uh we're just um again we're thrilled to have the opportunity to uh to have banners on Washington Street and um really appreciate the consideration and uh yeah I think that's you know I think a big thing for us again is just that um 40 seasons it's uh it's been you know I'm learning a lot.

2:26

I still have a lot to learn, but it's it's really exciting.

2:28

And so again, I think the banners are just beautiful, and um, I think they tell a story, and I think they share a great message, and it'd be a great opportunity for us.

2:36

So I appreciate the uh consideration.

2:39

What's your position with the Philharmonic?

2:40

Um I am the director of marketing and development.

2:43

Well, good luck.

2:43

Thank you.

2:45

I appreciate it.

2:46

Thank you.

2:48

Yeah, and I and I brought a few uh just a few things here.

2:55

No, I get long C.

2:57

Oh, that's fine.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████45%
Arts And Culture████████████████16%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████14%
Downtown Development████████8%
Code Enforcement███████7%
Human Resources█████5%
Public Works Recognition█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Columbus Board of Works Meeting - September 1, 2026

The Columbus Board of Works met on September 1, 2026, to approve routine items, banner requests, contracts, and legal actions. The meeting began with roll call and approval of the August 25, 2026 meeting minutes. Key actions included the approval of two banner requests, a battalion chief job description, fuel tank abandonment documentation, DORA permits, an ethnic expo tent contract, code enforcement legal action, a special use of right-of-way, bid awards for road projects, and claims. Bids for parking lot landscaping were taken under advisement.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the August 25, 2026 meeting minutes as presented.
  • Approved the battalion chief job description for the Fire Department.
  • Approved fuel tank abandonment documentation and work performed by VET Environmental Engineering for Station 1 ($3,600) and Station 5 ($3,100).
  • Approved a temporary DORA permit for Pints, Wines and Good Times, LLC for the Columbus Pride event on September 12, 2026 at Millrace Park.
  • Approved a temporary DORA permit for Firehouse Food Group (Fourth Street Bar and Grill) for Oktoberfest.
  • Approved a temporary DORA permit for Three Fingers Group, LLC (Garage Bar and Grill) for Oktoberfest.
  • Approved the contract with Nagengard Tent and Party Rental for the Ethnic Expo (over $25,000 threshold).
  • Approved legal action against the property owner at 1150 Terrace Lake Road for code enforcement violations (junk, trash, abandoned vehicles) after five letters and three fines were ignored.
  • Approved a special use of right-of-way for a driveway.
  • Awarded the bid to Dave O'Mara Contractor for the 26 overlay phase 2 in the amount of $1,875,854.
  • Awarded the bid to Walls Excavating, LLC for the Carhill Road extension (approximately 350–400 feet of new roadway) in the amount of $290,305.65.
  • Approved a task order with Strand Associates for construction observation on the Carhill Road project, not to exceed $35,000 for 200 hours of part-time observation.
  • Approved six dockets of claims.

Discussion Items

  • Banner Requests: Two new banner requests were presented and approved.
    • Columbus Indiana Philharmonic: Rich Lord, Director of Marketing and Development, presented a banner for the Philharmonic's 40th season, with first concert "Philharmonster" on October 31, 2026, at Columbus North High School, First Christian Church, and St. Peter's Lutheran. Average attendance is 500 per show. The organization also provides tickets to the community through Foundation for Youth. Approved.
    • Office of Downtown Development – Oktoberfest: Ike presented a banner for the first Oktoberfest event held on downtown streets (Fourth and Washington). The event aims to bring 4,000–5,000 people, replacing the Millrace Marathon after-party. Features include a vendor village, local food and beer vendors, a Steinholding competition (the only US Steinholding Association sanctioned event in Indiana), and sponsors including Toyota and Johnson Wig and Camper. The event starts at 2:00 PM. Approved.
  • Bids Taken Under Advisement: Two bids for parking lot 10 landscape improvements were received: Patrick Johnson Landscaping ($139,000) and Earth Images ($185,950). The board took the bids under advisement for further review.

Key Outcomes

  • All motions passed unanimously with no opposition indicated.
  • Next steps: The board will review the bids for parking lot 10 landscaping and make a final decision; the road projects (overlay and Carhill Road extension) are scheduled to begin construction this fall, with Strand providing oversight on Carhill Road.
  • Upcoming events announced: September 3 – 6th Street Arts Alley and 411 Gallery Reception; September 5 – Farmers Market and Hospice 40th Anniversary Benefit Concert (3:00 PM on Library Plaza); September 7 – Labor Day (city offices closed, trash pickup delayed one day).
  • Meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

We want it off. You want it solid. Okay, so you guys want yours working so it doesn't pick up your thoughts. Can it do that? Can it pick up thoughts? Oh, I'm in so much trouble. Oh, you want them on? I'm sorry. Okay. Good morning. Today is September 1st. Hard to believe we got here. How do we get through the summer, unfortunately? First up is roll call. John Pickett. I'm here. When Sullivan here. Eric Fry present. And I am here and we'll serve as chair and Melancholy. First up is approval of the August 25th meeting minutes. I'm approaching approval. Okay. So the motion is second to approve the August meeting minutes as presents all in favor. Aye. Opposed same sign. Motion carries. Okay. Paul, you are up with a couple of banner requests. Okay. Good morning, Mayor. Good morning, board. I do like you mentioned. We have a couple of new banner requests. We've never had these banners up before. So have a couple of people here to kind of give us a little bit of background on what these represent and what they're there for. First one I want to present to you is for the uh Columbus, Indiana Philharmonic. Uh Rich Lord here. Don't mind coming up. Rich, just kind of tell us a little bit about the idea for the banner and your organization. Uh yes, my name's Rich, and I am new with the Philharmonic. I have been there for just a little over three months now. And um, this is our 40th season that we are celebrating. Our first concert is October 31st, and it's called Philharmonster. And um and uh we are going to be performing at uh Columbus North High School as well as First Christian Church and St. Peter's um Lutheran. We are uh expecting attendance of average last year was roughly 500 um per show for our concerts. And um we anticipate uh that again this year. Um we uh we're just um again we're thrilled to have the opportunity to uh to have banners on Washington Street and um really appreciate the consideration and uh yeah I think that's you know I think a big thing for us again is just that um 40 seasons it's uh it's been you know I'm learning a lot. I still have a lot to learn, but it's it's really exciting. And so again, I think the banners are just beautiful, and um, I think they tell a story, and I think they share a great message, and it'd be a great opportunity for us.

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