FENWICK ISLAND – A restriping project of the town’s streets will move forward with the support of the Fenwick Island Town Council.
At last Friday’s meeting of the Fenwick Island Town Council, officials voted unanimously to approve a $9,792 bid from Straight Line to restripe the town’s streets.
Councilman Richard Benn, chair of Fenwick Island Infrastructure Committee, noted the action item was forwarded to the town council with a favorable recommendation.
“We’d like to put forward the street striping proposal for $9,000 or so to restripe the sides of the roads that indicate where parking is available and where parking is not available, as discussed with the chief of police and Mike Locke, the head of public works,” he said.
Earlier this month, members of the town’s infrastructure committee, voted to advance the restriping project to the town council with a favorable recommendation after reviewing a proposal from Straight Line.
While there were some initial concerns over the lack of proposals, Benn noted the town was not required to seek multiple bids.
“We’ve worked with this company in the past …,” he said at the time. “They can also do it in the timeframe that we need.”
Committee members also discussed the need to address striping near mailboxes.
“Some of the reasoning they give for striping was to have access to the mailboxes,” said committee member Bob Warburton. “In some instances, the white line comes within a couple feet of mailboxes, and if someone parked there the [postal service] wouldn’t have access to it. I wonder if they would revisit some of these places and consider changing that.”
Locke, however, told committee members last week that staff had reached out to the postal service and received no complaints.
“We spoke to the town’s postal service driver and he has no problems with the way it’s striped right now,” he said. “So we went along with the way the striping is right now.”
He said the bid submitted to the town proposing keeping the same striping plan for the most part.
“Except for a few changes, this was just a bid for redoing what we have now,” he said.
On the agenda for approval last Friday, the town council voted 7-0 to approve the restriping project, which is expected to be completed before Memorial Day.
Mayor Vicki Carmean noted the project was long overdue.
“I think it needs to be done,” she said. “One of the biggest headaches in this town is parking – what’s legal and what’s not – and I feel like this is a good expenditure.”
