By LEIGH M. CALDWELL

An engineering mistake is adding additional work – and additional cost – to the road construction project underway at Benton Industrial Park II.

Benton Mayor Gary Kraft briefed the city council during its regular meeting Monday night on an engineering oversight that will require an additional $35,000 to relocated and encase some oil well lines during road construction at the project.

Officials broke ground in September on the $3 million undertaking, which includes the widening and resurfacing of portions of Central Street, Sugar Creek Road and Petroff Road, as well as an extension of Skylane Drive. Grants from the federal Economic Development Agency and Illinois Department of Transportation are providing about 90 percent of the funds for the project.

Kraft said the engineer who won the bid for the project overlooked the oil well lines, which have been in the ground since approximately 1980. Since they were there first, the project will have to pay for them to be moved, he said.

Greater Egypt Regional Planning and Development Commission officials are submitting a change order to the EDA to deal with the line relocation and encasement. City officials expressed hope that the EDA would come up with the additional funds.

If the EDA does not come through with the additional funds, city officials acknowledged they will have to come from somewhere.

“Without them [the oil well lines] being moved, the road can’t be completed,” said Benton City Attorney Tom Malkovich. Commissioners authorized Malkovich to negotiate and agreement between the company that owns the lines, Continental Resources Inc., and the city, so that work can progress.

In other action, the Benton City Council:

• Approved wastewater treatment plant purchase orders of $3,371.58 for testing materials required by the EPA and $2,550 for balancer replacement.
• Discussed donating two wastewater treatment plant vehicles to the city of Rosiclaire. The vehicles – a 1990 dump truck and a 1992 pick-up truck – are not in use. “They are salvage to us,” Kraft said. Rosiclaire officials had expressed a need for vehicles and said the city was willing to fix them if they were in disrepair. Benton officials are going to invite Rosiclaire officials to come look at the vehicles and decide if they want them. The matter was tabled until that visit takes place.
• Approved a payment of $67,503.44 for Jeff Wiggs Excavating for water main replacement at Grand and Reed streets.
• Authorized the city’s police department to spend a $570 holiday donation received from Fred’s Super Dollar on its Shop with a Cop program, which provides Christmas gifts for children in need.
• Authorized the city’s fire department to spend $250 of its $570 holiday donation from Fred’s Super Dollar to purchase toys for the Toys for Tots program. The remaining $320 of the donation will also be donated to Toys for Tots as a cash donation.
• Approved city payroll of $93,328.85.
• Approved the annual tax levy ordinance.
• Briefly discussed creating a liquor license for the Benton Bowl. Commissioners are researching how liquor licenses work at other area bowling alleys, and plan to take up the issue at the next regular council meeting on Dec. 27. (Click here to read our previous story about the liquor license request.)
• Approved the rescheduling of the council’s next regular meeting to 7 p.m. Dec. 27, so that it does not conflict with Christmas Eve.
• Continued the meeting until 8:30 a.m. Friday, when the council will pay city bills.