The proposal for a new South Jacksonville Water and Street Department building by Godfrey Park on Hardin Avenue was approved last night.
John Green and Harry Jennings got the South Jacksonville Planning Commission’s approval to demolish and build in the premises of village owned land. It’s a new functionally-standing metal building being DIY-crafted by the village Department of Public Works.
The Water and Street Departments are the main occupants of the facilities at 1589 Hardin Avenue between East Greenwood and Laurel. Public Works Superintendent John Green discusses why the current building won’t stay.
“It’s old and working on it would be throwing good money at bad. It’s not big enough. A lot of our dump trucks are sitting outside because we don’t have room to fit them in. The shop up at the top of the property is not big enough. This new facility will be big enough to house all our trucks and will not need to be in constant disrepair.”
Green adds that the new building will be aesthetically familiar.
“It’ll be a typical metal-built building. It might look like one of Morton’s buildings, but it will be made by us.”
Green offers the current estimates for height of the proposed structure.
“It’ll have 12 foot high/12 foot wide doors. Ceiling will be 14 feet , and after the roof it will be about 17 feet tall. Folks can expect to see the finished product in late fall.”
Planning Commission Chairman Larry Moore describes the necessity for this evening’s meeting.
“If you look in our regulations, because there is designated city-funded traffic on the property, this meeting is necessary, even though the building will be less than 5,000 square feet.”
Code Enforcement Officer Craig Hill will write the building permit directly to the Village of South Jacksonville, and demolition will begin soon. The Board of Trustees will take action on this proposal at their next full Trustee session on September 6th.
The Planning Commission, which also acts as the Zoning Board of Appeals as needed, typically meets on the second Thursday of any particular month if an item of interest has been brought to the board recently.
Village Hall at 301 Dewey Drive is located just west of South Elementary School.