The Ellettsville, Indiana, Town Council and Supervisors met in a Supervisors Meeting at 6:30 p.m. prior to the regular Council meeting. Mike Farmer, Rick Coppock and Jerry Pittsford gave an update to the rest of the Council members as well as the Supervisors on the proceedings between the Town and Eastern Richland Sewer Corporation. Mike Farmer said that Eastern Richland Sewer Corporation will work with Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and any signed letter would be between them. The Town’s only requirement would be to verify that the plant has the capacity to accept the new flow. Jerry emphasized the need to carefully consider the impact inflow and infiltration the other sewer corporation will have on the capacity of the plant. Ellettsville can’t mandate improvements be made to their collections system, but we must bare the consequence for the overflows they create at the plant. We had a voluntary ban until we could fix our problems, they should do the same. A suggestion was made to meter the flow from their lines and charge a per gallon fee. Mike Farmer said they would like a rate reduction. It was mentioned that any raises that had been given to Utility employees and increases in postage had not been equally divided between Ellettsville, Eastern and Northern Sewer Corporations but that Ellettsville had borne the costs alone. Ellettsville has made significant strides in upgrading Ellettsville’s sewer system. Both Eastern and Northern need to start improving theirs.
The topic of departments being allowed to have one-year waiting lists for applicants was also mentioned and will be discussed further at tonight’s regular Council meeting. The estimated cost to the Police was $1,202.00 and the Fire was $2,163.89 during each department’s last hiring process, prompting Jim Davis to now request the Council to reconsider the idea of a waiting list. David Sorokoty stated he now realizes the cost that would be saved if a waiting list would be in place. He also said that other local fire departments have waiting lists with the stipulation that the list would be purged after 12 months.
A Special Session Meeting was also held prior to the regular Town Council meeting at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the Build Indiana Grants. Governor O’Bannon made the decision to use lottery monies to help with the state deficit instead of distributing them into Build Indiana Funds; therefore, the Town of Ellettsville will not be receiving the $265,000.00 applied for at this time. Sandra Hash, Clerk-Treasurer informed the Council that the Town still has $147,400.43 left in the Government Center fund and $111,546.60 left in the Downtown Fund. Originally the Town had received $150,000.00 for improvements in the downtown area and $300,000.00 for a new government center. Approximately $150,000.00 was spent to purchase land for the new fire station. The Town still has to pay $100,000.00 from the original Downtown grant for the underground utilities project. There will be a total of $197,000.00 remaining in the combined funds after the underground utilities project is complete. Rick Coppock explained the cost difference between the decorative lighting and the cobra lamps now used. The current monthly fee per light is about $7.00. It would be about the same per decorative lights if we purchase the post and fixtures paying only for the usage. If we rent the lights, the cost would be approximately $30 each per month, which is four times what we currently pay. The plan is to have 93 lights. (93 x $7.00 = $651.00 per month compared to 93 x $30.00 = $2790.00 per month) The Council discussed other possible ways to fund the lights such as installing every other one at first and creating a rainy day fund to collect budgeted money not otherwise expended. The Council also discussed purchasing the land, agreeing it would be a worthwhile investment for the Town to go ahead with purchasing the two properties owned by McLain and Jacobs directly West of Town Hall.
The regular Town Council Meeting was held at 7:30 PM, Monday, March 25, 2002 at the Town Hall. David Sorokoty called the meeting to order and Jerry Pittsford led in prayer. David Drake led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll Call
David Sorokoty asked for roll call of the Council Members. Members present were David Sorokoty President; David Drake, Vice-President; Mike Cornman; Jerry Pittsford and Geraldine McIntyre. Also present was Mike Spencer, Town Attorney and Sandra Hash, Clerk-Treasurer
Supervisors
Present
Jim Davis, Jim Ragle, Mike Farmer and Jeff Farmer. Rick Coppock and Deborah Hudson were also present. Ron McGlocklin was not present due to a training program he was attending.
Approval of Minutes of a
special session on March 6th, 2002 and of the regular meeting on
March 11th, 2002
Mike Cornman made a motion to approve the minutes from the March 11th
meeting and David Drake seconded.
Motion carried with David Sorokoty abstaining due to his absence on that
date. Geraldine McIntyre made a motion
to approve the minutes from the March 6th meeting and David Drake
seconded. Motion carried.
Proclamation proclaiming the
month of April 2002 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Ellettsville
David Drake read the proclamation.
David Sorokoty commended the Exchange Club in this worthy cause and
encouraged everyone to be involved with activities for children.
Resolutions None
Ordinances on First Reading None
Ordinances on Second Reading
None
Old Business None
New Business
Exchange Club Quarters for
Kids – Darlyne Sowder
Darlyne Sowder, secretary for the Exchange Club asked for volunteers to
help collect for the Exchange Club Quarters for Kids. She also requested permission to conduct this fund-raiser on
Friday, April 26th, 2002 from 2:00 – 6:00 p. m. to help collect
donations for the kids. Geraldine
McIntyre moved to grant the Exchange Club permission for the fund-raiser from
2-6 p. m. on April 26th.
Mike Cornman seconded. Motion
carried.
Approval of Proclamation
Mike Cornman made a motion to approve Proclamation for April as Child
Abuse Prevention Month in Ellettsville.
Geraldine McIntyre seconded.
Motion carried.
Utility Service Agreement
between Ellettsville Utilities, The Zion Nazarene and The Ellettsville
Christian Churches
Rick Coppock explained the agreement. The Town will construct the
necessary sewer lines to the church property along with a lift station located
on the property owned by the Zion Nazarene Church. The sewer line to the Ellettsville Christian
Church will be built to that Church’s property line. Ellettsville Christian Church will be
responsible for constructing any lateral necessary to connect to the sewer
line. The Town will provide all
material and labor for the construction.
The Churches will provide all easements necessary for the project
without charge. The Churches will pay
the sum of Forty Thousand dollars each for the construction. The entire
$80,000.00 will be paid in advance before any material is purchased or
construction starts. This will make sewer available to other residents not
currently served by Ellettsville Utilities.
Jerry Pittsford suggested residents that are not in the Town limits sign
an agreement not to contest annexation prior to hooking them on the sewer. Mike Cornman made a motion to approve the
Utility service agreement between Ellettsville Utilities and the Zion Nazarene
and the Ellettsville Christian Churches.
David Drake seconded. Motion
carried.
Electrical connections
Agreement between Ellettsville and Cassady Electric for the residential and
commercial underground connections
Rick Coppock explained the agreement.
Jerry Pittsford moved for approval of the agreement between the Town of
Ellettsville and Cassady Electric for the relocation in conjunction with INDOT
State Road 46 project. David Drake
seconded. Motion carried.
Timothy R. Downy Insurance
Sales Representative for Southern Indiana, Eric Ackerman will answer questions
concerning insurance for the skate park
Mr. Ackerman stated he was present to address the concerns expressed at
the Roundtable meeting that Ellettsville hosted at The Nutmeg House concerning
insurance. He also informed the Council
that Regina Haverly of The May Agency is the local agent for Timothy R. Downy
Insurance. Last year Ellettsville paid
$2750 for coverage for the skate park, which protected the Town against
lawsuits. It did not have medical
coverage for the skaters. At that time we had to purchase insurance out of
state because no company offered skate park insurance in Indiana. In January the law changed and Indiana
insurance companies now are offering this type of coverage. The package Downy Insurance has for the Town
is a liability policy for catastrophic coverage, which means if someone would
be seriously hurt in a fall they would have to file a suit against the
Town. To add the skate park to the
current policy the cost will be $650, which will cover all liability and have a
$5000 med pay for small claims such as broken arms or stitches but bigger
claims would have to file a suit. He
mentioned a few of the guidelines such as the skate park must be fenced,
skaters must use protective gear and be supervised, no bikes just skates and
skateboards, and the policy will not cover half pipes. Mr. Ackerman said that insurance costs in
general are increasing due to the September 11th, 2001 tragedy and
that his company’s insurance will have a 15% increase in August. Mike Cornman suggested forwarding this
policy information to the Park Board for their input. Darlyne Sowder – asked if the Town’s current insurance policy
covers the Well Site Park property and Regina Haverly said yes it does.
Privilege of the Floor
Ed Bitner – questioned if the Town is still paying for the streetlights
that have been temporarily removed due to construction. Sandy Hash stated she would audit the bills
to see if the Town was billed the service when not in use.
Jerry Pittsford asked if anyone was keeping track of how many
streetlights have been removed during construction. Mike Farmer said that he has a meeting with Cinergy tomorrow
night and he would ask if they are keeping a tally.
Action to pay Accounts
Payable Vouchers
Jerry Pittsford moved to approve the accounts payable vouchers. Geraldine McIntyre seconded. Motion carried.
Supervisor’s comments
Jim Davis – explained that the Fire Department has two
officer position openings, one for Captain and one for Deputy Chief. Jim presented a letter to the Council
stating that Fire Department liaison David Drake and himself would like to
recommend promoting Kevin Patton to Captain and Mike Cornman to Deputy
Chief. Jerry Pittsford moved to approve
Kevin Patton as Captain and Geraldine McIntyre seconded. Motion carried with Mike Cornman
abstaining. Geraldine McIntyre made
motion to accept Mike Cornman as Deputy Chief and David Drake seconded. Motion carried with Mike Cornman
abstaining.
Jim reminded the Council that when the Police Department requested a
waiting list it was denied. He is now
requesting the Council reconsider the idea of a waiting list of qualified
applicants. Each Council member
received a list of man-hours required to process the hiring of the new full
time fire fighter detailing the actual cost of the interviewing and testing
process for the 65 applicants. He
explained to the Council the advantages of having a waiting list and requested
it be kept for a period of one year.
Deborah said that the waiting list should be included in the Town’s
policy. Mike Spencer suggested that
when it is written it should say it is not binding the Town to the individuals
on the list and that the supervisors’ reserve the right to change their
minds.
Sandra Hash – mentioned that Gregg Zody, Monroe County
Planner, requested the use of the Town Hall from 10:00 a. m. to 7:00 p. m. on
April 24th and 25th, 2002. Jerry Pittsford moved to
approve Mr. Zody using the Town Hall.
Geraldine McIntyre seconded.
Motion carried.
Sandy also requested
permission for Deputy Amber Ragle and herself to attend the Indiana League of
Municipal Clerks and Treasurers annual conference in Merrillville on April 24th
and 25th, 2002. Geraldine
McIntyre made a motion to approve Sandy and Amber attending the meeting. David Drake seconded. Motion carried.
Adjournment
Jerry Pittsford moved
for adjournment. Mike Cornman seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 8:32 p. m.
_____________________________ __________________________
David Sorokoty, President David Drake, Vice President
_____________________________ __________________________
Mike Cornman Jerry Pittsford
_____________________________ __________________________
Geraldine McIntyre Sandra C. Hash
Clerk-Treasurer