October 29, 2021 at 7:26 p.m.
Town Council Meeting October 19, 2021
Jerry Bragg called the meeting to order with a reminder to silence mobile devices. He then led the opening prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Jerry then moved on to the special meeting for the 2022 budget adoption, ordinance number 2021-03. Diane Burton stated the amounts are the same as previously presented in August. Ed Johnson asked how much the increase was from last year. Diane stated it was 4%. Clyde made a motion to pass the budget with John Walstad seconding the motion. It passed 5 – 0.
Council then moved on to old business. Steve Robertson then came before council with a CCMG (Community Crossing Matching Grant) update. He presented the final amounts due to Robertson Paving. Shafer Drive was quoted at $49,432.50 but came in under budget at $47,942.46. Aiken street was also under budget, with a quote of $43,335.00 and a final cost of $34,000.00. There was a total cost reduction of $10,002.28 which will be returned to INDOT. John Walstad thanked Robertson Paving for keeping the cost under budget. Steve asked for a motion to approve the pay. Clyde made it, with Ed seconding. The motion passed 5 – 0.
Mr. Robertson stated next year crack seal will be eligible. The cost for crack seal is .50 cents a square yard for budgeting. Crack seal needs to be done when cracks are ¼” wide. David stated the best time to apply it is November or December.
Steve then moved on to the 2021 asset management plan. An asset management plan must be on file for the last year to qualify for CCMG grant funds. Frank Owens has been trained on how to rate the roads. Frank and Steve’s team spend two hours on it. Frank anticipated it would take him four hours on his own.
Scott Andrews then presented the unsafe structures ordinance. The current ordinance lists a code enforcement officer. Since the town has none, the language would be changed to the Building and Zoning Officer. Mr. Andrews asked for it to be passed at the first reading. Clyde Compton asked for an ordinance number. It was assigned number 2021-04. Clyde motioned to pass it immediately. John Walstad seconded the motion. It passed 5 – 0. Scott Andrews continued he would meet with Matt Tallent and Matt Galbraith about the weed and unsafe building ordinances and have an amended ordinance for the council the next meeting.
Matt Tallent then presented the cost of new reserve officer equipment at $1,538.49 total. Clyde suggested a $400.00 a year clothing allowance with the caveat the person must be here for six months before then can receive the allowance. Matt stated he would rather have it set up so the department is billed and it is not paid out to individuals. Ohmer asked for clarification on the six months and what was required for officer uniforms. Each officer must have two pairs of pants, two shirts, one short sleeved and one long sleeved, a gun, a duty belt and a bulletproof vest. Clyde made a motion to pay $400.00 uniform allowance after six months of service for equipment allowance. John Walstad seconded the motion. Diane stated she must check into whether they can reimburse after the six months. The motion passed 5 – 0.
Clyde had a question about the eight burglaries in the past month. Tallent replied that four storage units were hit in one night on South Street. There is video surveillance and officers are working on the case. It was asked if the five suspicious person calls had anything to do with the homeless man. Matt replied they did not. The homeless man is no longer in town.
Council then moved on to new business. Kim Taylor was first up. She asked council for permission to hold a 5k run in memory of Sarah Taylor to benefit the Glow Like Sarah fund. The FFA is sponsoring it with the goal of improving health. It would be a nighttime run with glow sticks, glow paint, and black lights. The run would start at the school outside the ag room, go down 775 to town, down South Street, then to Broad Street, then Seminary where they would cross Nine, through the Moravian parking lot. Luminaries would be set up on Race Street. The course would continue on Mill Street to Jackson Street, to Market, back to the ag room for the finish. That is 3.1 miles. There would be volunteers stationed at all the street crossings. The race would start at 8:00 p.m. and go until 10:00 p.m. There would be a party afterwards in the school parking lot with a DJ and snacks. Ed made a motion to accept, Clyde seconded the motion. Matt Tallent will have one car leading the race and one car following the race, as well as two cars at the crossing on State Road 9. Ohmer commented that people’s safety is the most important thing. He expressed concerns about traffic on State Road Nine, farm equipment, or drunk people on the road, but he did approve. The motion passed 5 – 0.
Mike Ketron was next on the agenda for the Moravian turkey supper. It will be drive thru only instead of dining in this year. He asked for permission to close Locust Street from State Road Nine to Race Street from about 1:00 until 8:00 p.m. on November 20th. They normally serve about 800 meals, and he expected demand to be the same for drive-thru service. Clyde motioned the town accept it, with Ed seconding, then abstaining. Jerry seconded the motion since Ed abstained. The motion passed 4 – 0 with Ed abstaining.
Jessica Brown then came before the board on behalf of the Yellow Trail Museum. She asked for permission to use the square for Christmas of Yesteryear. She did not require any streets closed but did ask permission to use the bandstand for character skits. Due to COVID the museum felt it was better to not use wagons or carriage rides this year and keep audience members spread out for the character skits. They would be performed on a set schedule from the bandstand. She also asked for permission to hold a tree lighting ceremony on the bandstand to start the evening off. Council granted permission.
Council then moved on to the 2022 Salary Ordinance. A 2.5% increase was proposed by Clyde this year. It must be passed by November. Clyde asked for 2.5% because of the cost-of-living adjustment of 1.7%. He also felt like a flat $500.00 increase for the animal control officer. He felt it would incentivize someone to apply for the job. Diane says hey are paid hourly so she is not sure if they can do a flat $500.00. Scott Andrews quickly did the math, and at twenty hours a week the hourly rate is currently $10.50 an hour. A 2.5% raise would be $10.76 an hour. The raise would be $0.48 with the flat $500.00. David Clouse then asked if the on-call pay could be increased. It has been the same rate for three years. Clyde made the motion to increase all pay rates by 2.5%. Ed asked if the reserve officers would get on call pay as well. He would like to add that next year. John Walstad seconded the motion. It passed 5 – 0. A second reading of the ordinance would he held next month.
Council then moved on to the town manager’s report. Frank Owens asked for money to purchase new garland for the bandstand at Lowes. The cost was $494.82 for nine units. Clyde motioned to accept, John Walstad seconded the motion. It passed 4 – 0.
Mr. Owens then presented the CGS/WM contract for trash renewal. The contract is up for renewal on 12/1 for a three-year term. Currently the rate is $8.75 a unit per month plus an $1.00 admin fee. The new rate would be $10.50 for the newt two years and $10.98 for the third year, plus the $1.00 admin fee. They would also charge $5.75 a month for an additional cart. Ed felt the extra cart fee was high. Clyde commented the extra $1.00 admin fee goes toward paying for the recycling bin at the utility department. Currently we pay $1,800.00 per month for recycling and half of that comes out of the town’s pockets. Ed asked if out of town people used the recycling bins. David replied they did, he has seen Schafer Lake residents there. Clyde asked for an announcement about breaking down cardboard boxes before putting them in the recycling bin. It costs more when the bins must be picked up earlier when they are full of unbroken down boxes. Clyde made a motion to accept the quote. John Walstad seconded the motion.
Frank then asked for Jackson Street to be closed for Goodies, Ghosts and Goblins so children can safely cross between Willow Leaves and the park. Clyde motioned to close Jackson Street. Ed seconded the motion. It passed 5 – 0.
Mr. Owens then presented a quote from Robertson Paving for saw cutting the asphalt to install a green space along the west side the square bordering Main Street. The quote was for $19,250.00 and was good for only three more days. Clyde asked where it would be paid out of. ARP monies was the reply. Ohmer made the motion. John Walstad seconded it. It passed 5 - 0.
Ed then asked about the cameras for Norman Park and the utility department. They are in process.
Meeting was adjourned.
