City Engineer Cole stepping down

May 8—DANVILLE — For the better part of five years, Sam Cole has been responsible for making changes in the Danville infrastructure as the city engineer.

In Tuesday's City Council meeting, Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. announced that Cole was stepping down from his job at the end of next week.

"Sam worked for us as a young engineer and people thought he would be city engineer one day, but he wasn't treated very well," Williams said. "When I was elected, I wanted Sam to work for me because I told him that I think this is where he needed to be. We were able to do a lot of things and we would not have gotten there without him. We will miss him and what he has done for the City of Danville and we thank him very much."

It was the end of Cole's second time around in Danville government and he said this time was definitely better than the first.

"I remember the moment that I wanted to come back," Cole said. "I heard a lady on WGBL that talked about her mayor starting a day of fasting and prayer and I thought that would be an amazing mayor to work for and it turned out it was Rickey, so we started talking to make things happen.

"I really do appreciated the opportunity to do this for the City and citizens. The trust you have given me and the staff has been incredible. I would do this all over again, but I can't do it any more. There is a great amount of talented people that do their job very well and are here on a mission. I ask you to support them and hope for better things and that is what is going to keep the positive things going."

Cole is taking a new job, but not in city engineering.

"To be honest, I gave everything I had here on the table and I don't think I could do this anywhere else," Cole said.

Before the announcement, Cole was answering questions about resolutions that will start Downtown Revitalization Phase 1.

"We are completely rebuilding Walnut Street from north of City Hall to Harrison Street by the old bread store," Cole said. "It will include the reconstruction of an alley just east behind Temple Plaza and the reconstruction of Hazel Street from near the DMT terminal to the post office by Madison Street.

"It will go from Vermilion to Jackson and reconstruction of Madison from Vermilion to Jackson. When I mean reconstruction, the road base will stay, storm sewers will be done, there will be overlay on pavement, there will be new curbs, new sidewalks. It is a pretty comprehensive restructure and there is a lot of bang for our buck for this. It will be a tight timeline and we are trying to get our $3 million grant spent by the end of the year, so you say yes and figure out how."

Cole said that once they pick the best bidder for the job, reconstruction can begin soon.

"We had two bidders that looked at the plans and one was a little above estimate and one was lower, so we feel good about the numbers," Cole said. "We have a few details to work on, but we have to have all the bills paid and final reports by the end of January. They are eager to go and I suspect that this will start in the next couple of weeks and work should be complete by Dec. 1. That is optimistic, but enough of the project should be done and there might be touch-ups in the spring."

With construction running into the early winter, traffic in those areas will be changed dramatically.

"There will be one-way traffic on Walnut and Hazel Streets and that will change throughout the project," Cole said. "The east-west roads are narrow like Madison and Harrison, so we will allow access as needed for businesses, but those roads will be closed for the most part. We recognize the inconvenience, but it has to be necessary to get this done in a timely fashion and for safety reasons."

There were also contracts awarded for companies to use sealant in various parking lots and roads in town.

"There are also contracts toward using sealant in places like Lincoln Park and Danville Stadium down the road," Cole said. "Pressurepave is something we used last year and it included crack sealing in places around town like Main Street and any state routes we take care of for maintenance. We want to keep the road protected for everyone."

Also, as part of the Public Works Committee Report, a resolution was approved for rates for the 2024 season of the new Danville Aquatics Center at Garfield Park.

The daily pass (per person) fee is $8. A punch card for 10 daily passes (per person) is $70. Non-profit organizations (such as the Boys & Girls Club, per person) is $4. Children age 3 and under will be free.

Alderman Jon Cooper answered a question about a season pass and Danville Public Works Director Dave Ruwe said that it was a matter of caution.

"The reason we are not doing it is with the pool project coming to the end and there could be things that could push the opening back," Ruwe said. "They found an issue that has been repaired, but we had to push the inspection day back a week. We expected it when we were talking about it and an opening in the first or second week in June is still a possibility. We don't want to sell season passes and have people say they didn't get a whole season in. We got the punch card idea from a neighboring pool and we thing that is the best way to buy in bulk this year."

Williams also talked about the revitalization of Friendly Town in Lincoln Park that has been ongoing.

"I like to thank those who were involved with it like (Police Chief Chris) Yates and (Fire Chief Aaron) Marcott and Alderman Cooper helped me out a lot," Williams said. "It shows what we are made of and if we can come together, a lot of great things can happen. The proudest part for me is the schoolhouse. It didn't look like a schoolhouse before, but we had kids in the Geo-Con and construction class at Danville High School come out and actually built the structure for us and I was happy for that and I want to thank them and also late Senator (Scott) Bennett for helping and it will be great."

New wrecker and towing service fees were also announced.

The schedule of rates and fees proposed for emergency wrecker and towing services provided for the city: Tow Rates — Flatbed: Light-Duty (was $80) $125; Medium-Duty (was $100) $175; Heavy-Duty (was $190) $275. Storage Rates — Outside: Car (was $20.00 per day) $35 per day; Truck (was $40 per day) $70 per day; Trailer (was $60 per day) $90 per day; Inside: Car (was $30 per day) $55 per day; Truck (was $60 per day) $90 per day; Trailer (was $90 per day) $110.00 per day; Mileage Rate for towing outside city limits — Light-Duty (was $3 per towed mile) $4 per towed mile; Medium-Duty (was $3.50 per towed mile) $5 per towed mile; Heavy-Duty (was $4 per towed mile) $6 per towed mile.

Also, after hours release fee: (was $35) $70 minimum; Ball-Joint Block/Skate Loading $30 per use; Personal Property Storage $30 maximum; Clean-up time and materials will be charged for actual expenses (was $20 minimum) $35; Administration Fee for nationwide VIN search $25; and Administration Fee certified mail $35.