NEW WHITELAND TOWN COUNCIL
November 20, 2007
MEETING MINUTES
Town Council President
MINUTES
Councilman Noonan moves to approve the
minutes of the November 6th meeting and is seconded by Councilman Alspach. Vote 4
affirmative.
HARDSHIPS /
ADJUSTMENTS
There were none.
OLD
BUSINESS
Clerk-Treasurer Alspach presents a status
report on the project. She advises the Hometown
Helper Grant we applied for was denied. Several of the CPCSC schools held “Jar
Wars” to raise money for
Upcoming fundraisers include the Indiana
Pacer’s game on December 12th where Sgt. Joseph E. Proctor will be
honored as an Indiana Hero. Order forms
for tickets are available on line and $6.00 of each of the designated
Council President Perrin asks what needs to
be done to finish the fountain. PW Supt.
Lasiter states all of the work is done, the pumps are installed, we are waiting
on the electrical work to be completed and we will need to do some grading
around the site. The labor is being donated for the electrical work we will
only pay for materials. Councilman
Noonan is checking on 100 and 200 amp boxes but was unable to locate a meter
base or disconnect. Clerk-Treasurer
Alspach notes that the Game Time Grant will probably expire before we can raise
enough money to order the equipment. We
have been given a second quote from Kidz Zone that is good through the end of
January. This equipment is made of
recycled materials and if we order in January and take delivery in February
they will send us 2 installers for one day of free labor. Alspach has spoken to another vendor and
anticipates an additional quote the first week of December.
Leaf Pick Up
Councilman Spencer asks about the leaf pick
up schedule. PW Supt. Lasiter states we are usually finished by the first week
in December but due to the dry summer the leaves are staying on longer this
fall. If the weather turns bad we will
have to get the snow blades on and that will be the end of leaf pick up. After some discussion it is decided that the
last day for leaf pick up will be December 12th unless the weather
changes prior to that date. We will put
an ad in the Journal and put this information on the web site, the radio
station and the December utility bills.
Fire Department
Chief Hedrick states the AEDs came in
today. He was able to get the IFD
pricing as well as $400 of free accessories.
They now have 2 new AEDs to replace the 6 old ones. Hedrick notes he has enough money left in his
budget to purchase one (1) more with the council’s approval. Hedrick adds that the
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Page Two
November 20, 2007
new AEDs do not have an annual maintenance
contract which will save the department $3,400.00 per year. Council approves purchase of additional AED.
Chiefs Hedrick and Stephenson suggest
distributing old units to the Town Hall, WWTP, Police Station and the schools
or area churches. Brian states the Fire Department will inspect the machines
monthly and will offer free CPR training to all town employees. Brian will research any liability on placing
the AEDs in these locations.
ISO Audit
Fire Chief Hedrick states the field audit was
completed. It will be 6 months before
the final report is issued. Hedrick
states the last audit was done in 1991 and at that time we had three (3) fire
engines due to the fact the new engine had just been delivered and we had not
disposed of the old one yet. Hedrick was
told our rating would go down because we currently only have 2 engines not the
three we had the last time they visited.
NEW
BUSINESS
Policy Clarification
Council President Perrin states that when a
Department Head is on vacation they are not required to attend council
meetings. Perrin notes PW Supt. Lasiter
is here tonight but is on vacation this week.
Lasiter states that he is here by choice not because he felt required to
attend. Jim Wilkerson was willing to
attend in his place but Lasiter chose to instead. Perrin also asks the council to consider how
we address the election day holiday when there are no elections in town. Perrin just asks that the council consider
this before next year’s election.
Councilman Alspach suggests in those years when there is no election
that we move the holiday to Christmas week.
Alspach would not be in favor of taking a holiday away from the
employees.
Fire Hydrant Parking Issues
Chief Hedrick states he and Marshal
Stephenson are addressing notification and enforcement procedures for problems
they are having with people parking in front of or over the fire hydrants in
the commercial area.
Utility Hook On Request
PW Supt. Lasiter introduces Tony Embry, a
contractor representing Mrs. Lipps who lives on 25W. Mrs. Lipps wants to add on to her home but
the county won’t issue her the necessary building permits until she addresses
her septic system issues. Mrs. Lipps is
asking permission to connect to the town’s water and sewer systems. She is willing to pay the cost of the running
of the lines as well as the hook on fees and the monthly billing charges. Mr. Embry states he will bore under 25W;
there will be no road cut. Attorney
Robbins asks if we will be requiring any easements. PW Supt. Lasiter says we will not as this is
a personal use only service line. Mr.
Embry states he needs a letter with the council’s decision for the county by
November 21st in order to get his permits approved.
Councilman Noonan moves to approve the water
and sewer hook on for Mrs. Lipps’ property subject to the property owner(s)
waiving the right to any future annexation of their property. Motion is seconded by Councilman
Spencer. Vote 4 affirmative. Cindy
Yates will prepare the letter for Mr. Embry to pick up November 21st.
Bid Opening
President Perrin opens the two (2) bids
received for the 1990 Chevy truck.
Wilkerson
Auto Sales $1,551.00
Charles
Hart $2,200.00
Councilman Alspach moves to accept the
$2,200.00 bid from Mr. Hart and is seconded by Councilman Spencer. Vote 4
affirmative. Clerk-Treasurer Alspach
will notify both bidders tomorrow.
Town Council
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November 20, 2007
Mapping Request
PW Supt. Lasiter states his MS4 permit
requires mapping of all storm sewers.
Foresight Engineering performed this service for us in 2005 but those
maps now need updating to include the new infrastructure in Country Gate and
Hilltop Farms. The cost to complete this
work with GPS is $5,500.00. Supt.
Lasiter has the money available in his budget but asks for council approval. Council approves.
Delinquent Invoices
Office Manager Yates states she has two (2)
customers who are unresponsive to requests for payment for services they
requested. The customer at 644 Country
Gate requested that their water meter be pulled and tested. We explained that in the event the test
proves the meter is working properly the resident is responsible for the cost
of the test ($50.00) and the resident agreed. The meter was pulled and tested
and was found to be working correctly.
Customer is refusing to pay the $50 testing fee. Attorney Robbins directs Yates to send the
customer a certified letter and advise him that if the fee is not paid his
water service will be disconnected.
Yates adds the business Almost Paradise put
in a yard card without a permit. They
were cited and subsequently applied for the permit paying the application fees but
failed to pick up the permit leaving an outstanding balance of $25.00. Attorney Robbins directs Yates to send this
customer a certified letter also requesting immediate payment.
LEGISLATIVE
Ordinance 2063
Attorney Robbins presents the ordinance adopting
the town code revisions and identifying the penalty changes on final reading. The ordinance passed on first reading on
November 6th. Member Noonan
moves to adopt the ordinance on final reading and is seconded by Member
Alspach. Vote 4 affirmative. Attorney
Robbins states this ordinance will require publication. His office will handle e public notice. The ordinance will be effective 30 days after
publication.
Ordinance 2067
Clerk-Treasurer Alspach reads the transfer
ordinance in title only on final reading.
Motion by Councilman Alspach to approve with a second by Councilman Spencer. Vote 4
affirmative.
Ordinance 2068
Clerk-Treasurer Alspach states that this
ordinance has been withdrawn due to receipt of our Certified Shares and
Property Tax Replacement Credit from the
OPEN TO THE
PUBLIC
None.
Being no other
business the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
____________________________
Maribeth Alspach, Clerk- Treasurer
Approved: _____________________________