At its regular meeting last night, the Batesville City Council approved a resolution authorizing the purchase of property on St. Louis Street and Meyers Street that it says will be crucial to the expansion and beautification of Riverside Park.
According to the resolution, the purchase includes the properties located at 1817 St. Louis St. (the former T & G Fish Market), 1845 St. Louis St. (the Riverside Gardens location), and 1350 Meyers St. (the former Riverside Conoco location).
The price for the property was listed in the resolution at around $1.6 million with the seller listed as Stroud Family Property LLC.
The resolution says with the purchase, the city desires to “…construct facilities to centralize economic and community development activities.” At last night’s meeting, Mayor Rick Elumbaugh told council members the development of the property will be a “game-changer for our community.”
“We will be releasing other plans as we go forward,” said Elumbaugh, noting the city is “working every day” toward those plans.
The further development of Riverside Park is also part of the IMPACT Independence County Strategic Plan. The resolution references the plan’s goal “…to improve outdoor recreation and leisure space, resulting in improved quality of life for residents.” (To read more about IMPACT Independence County, click here.)
Council members also waived competitive bidding for the purchase of equipment that should help better manage snow and ice accumulation on streets during winter weather. The snow removal and anti-ice system will utilize a brine mixture to pre-treat city streets before winter storms, making it easier to remove the accumulation from the surface.
The equipment was priced at approximately $41,880 and will be purchased with the city’s American Rescue Plan funds.
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