The Ellettsville, Indiana, Town Council met in regular session at 7:30 PM, Monday, May 13, 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, Geraldine McIntyre and Jerry Pittsford. Also present was Sandra Hash, Clerk-Treasurer; Deborah Hudson, Administrative Assistant and Mike Spencer, Town Attorney.
Supervisors Present Jim Davis, Jim Ragle, Ron McGlocklin, Mike Farmer and Jeff Farmer.
Approval of Minutes of
the regular meeting on April 22, 2002 and special meeting on April 24, 2002
Jerry Pittsford moved to approve the minutes. David Drake seconded.
Motion carried.
Action to pay Accounts
Payable Vouchers
Mike Cornman moved to approve the accounts payable vouchers. David Drake seconded. Motion carried.
Proclamation: May is
“Click It or Ticket” Month
David Drake read the proclamation.
Jerry Pittsford made a motion to approve the proclamation declaring May
to be Click It of Ticket month. David
Drake seconded. Motion carried.
Planning and Zoning
Recommendation – A-1 Zoning of the Well Site Property Phase Two Annexation
public hearing
Rick Coppock explained that this is the public hearing for the Well
Site Property Phase Two as required.
This is the western 10 acres of the property. Due to the continuity requirement the annexation was divided into
two phases. Rick said that most of the fieldwork for the survey has been
completed and now they are working in the office on the paperwork. The annexation goes by the legal description
and the survey determines where the property lays.
Resolutions
Resolution 08-02 concerning
early retirement of the Sewage Works Refunding Revenue bond of 1990 early
Jerry Pittsford read the resolution by title. Sandra Hash explained through the life of the bond there was
enough accrued interest to retire the bond early. Jeff Farmer added that if we retire the revenue bond now, it
would save the Utilities Department and its customers approximately
$30,000. Mike Cornman made a motion to
approve Resolution 08-02 concerning early retirement of the Sewage Works
Refunding Revenue Bond of 1990.
Geraldine McIntyre seconded.
Motion carried.
Resolution 09-02 temporary
loan from General Fund to Cumulative Capital Fund
Mike Cornman read the resolution for a temporary loan in the amount of
$21,196.72. Geraldine McIntyre moved to
accept Resolution 09-02. David Drake
seconded. Motion carried.
Ordinances on First
Reading
Ordinance 02-05 Annexation
of the Well Site Phase Two
Geraldine McIntyre read by title.
Ordinance 02-08 to amend
Chapter 715-80 concerning Water Service Regulations, Rates and Charges
David Drake read by title. Ed
Bitner asked for a clarification of this ordinance. David Drake explained that it pertains to waivers of protest of
annexation for connections to the Ellettsville water system for residents who
are outside the Town limits.
Ordinance 02-09 to amend
Chapter 725-75 concerning Sewer Rates and Charges
David Drake read by title. This
ordinance is similar to Ordinance 02-08 except it pertains to sewer service.
Ordinances on Second
Reading None
Old Business None
New Business
Bynum Fanyo Utilities
request for contract extension with presentation
Rick Coppock, Mike Farmer and Jeff Farmer of Bynum Fanyo Utilities, Inc. gave a
presentation to the Council summarizing each year giving operational statistics
and savings, capital improvements and account balances that Bynum Fanyo has
made for the Town. Rick opened the
presentation by explaining the history of Bynum Fanyo with the Town of
Ellettsville. Mike gave a slide show
presentation explaining Bynum Fanyo’s productivity, maintenance operations and
the capital improvements that have been made such as: replaced water main lines, added fire hydrants, implemented
on-call and safety procedures and established a way to track complaints,
re-configured valving of the water system, waterline relocations and
extensions, converted the Utility office to an upgraded computer system and
hand held meter reading devices, introduction of a sewer TV camera system to
detect and record sewer line damage, McNeely Street bridge project, Hwy. 46
project and the burial of utility lines project to name a few. Mike added that the Town’s sewer system has
gone from the worst to one of the top ten in the State. Jeff spoke on the cost savings and the
financial status of the Utilities. The
cash reserves have remained constant under BFU’s management. The only rate increase was due to an
increase in water cost from Bloomington.
They have made the improvements and held the cost down.
Council members gave their input and endorsement of Bynum Fanyo
following the presentation. Rick’s
letter of request for a contract extension for Bynum Fanyo proposed to have the
cost of living increase follow the Consumer Price Index as determined by the U.
S. Department of Labor with an average rate from the past 5 years (’97 to ’01)
being 3%. Mike Spencer will review the
contract. Mike Cornman made a motion to
extend the contract for Bynum Fanyo Utilities for the operation of the
Ellettsville Utilities for 10 years and follow the consumer price index as
determined by the US Department of Labor in December of each year, but not to
exceed a 3% annual increase. Geraldine McIntyre seconded. Motion carried. This would make the contract extended to the year 2017.
Ed Bitner questioned whether the Town had a way out if they were not
satisfied with their services. Rick
Coppock explained that there was a termination clause in the contract.
Privilege of the Floor
Darlyne Sowder – Congratulated the winner Mary Hudson on
winning the Name the Park contest with her name “Wishing Well Nature
Park”. Mary won 2 tickets to Holiday
World and planned on taking her young grandson. The Journal graciously gave Mary a third ticket to Holiday World
so her grandson’s mother could go with them.
Informed the Council that
approximately 30 elementary kids have been working at the “Wishing Well Nature
Park” to clear a trail. She also
thanked Mr. Jim Rubish, Assistant Superintendent for R.B.B.C.S.C. and the
P.T.O. for their help and support of this project.
The Skate Park still needs help on repairing several of the ramps. The park cannot open until the repairs are
complete. She said they would try to
open the Skate Park in June.
Pat Stoffers resigned from the Parks Board to pursue completing his
Master’s degree. She requested that
someone be appointed to fill his position as soon as possible.
David Sorokoty – Explained it is not the Town delaying
opening the skate park, but the people who were in charge of the skate park last
year. They were supposed to maintain
the equipment under a maintenance program.
The equipment was not kept up.
Darlyne has asked them several times to repair the equipment and it has
not been completed yet. The Parks Board
can’t open the park until the equipment is repaired.
Bob Sowder – Said he owns property along Vine Street
and that the flood from Jack’s Defeat Creek is getting worse and was wondering
if anything could be done collectively as a community to correct this
situation. He offered his assistance in
advance if someone can think of a solution.
David Sorokoty - Talked to Vi Simpson about cleaning out the
creek. He feels DNR should consider the
people before the crawdads.
Ellettsville is in a valley and we haven’t figured out how to make the
water run uphill yet. He also spoke to
Vi about receiving federal money to help correct this flooding situation.
Ed Bitner – Congratulated Dave Sorokoty on winning
the election and read a letter of concession.
Ed said he noticed that the stage had been demolished and asked where
the stone was being stored.
David Sorokoty – Commended Ed on a good election race as
well. He said he had received a call
telling him the stage was demolished by Crider and Crider and that the corner
stone was removed but that there was miscommunication about saving the rest of
the limestone.
Jerry Pittsford – Informed the Council that the last
conversation he had with Jerry Barnes was that the Fall Festival Committee
still owned the stage and they wanted to store it in the vacant lot next to the
Masonic Lodge Building. Jerry Barnes
had agreed to let the Fall Festival Committee salvage the stage but Crider and
Crider did not get the message that the Fall Festival Committee intended on
salvaging the limestone so the stage was demolished and the stone wasn’t saved.
Geraldine McIntyre – Added when she was Council President, a
letter from the Town’s attorney had been sent to the State requesting them to
save the limestone for the Town, Fall Festival Committee, and Masonic Lodge for
future projects. It was agreed that it
would be allowed. She along with David
and Jerry did not know the stage was demolished until late in the afternoon
after the stone was gone.
Supervisor’s comments
Ron McGlocklin – Stated that the Police and Fire Departments
were flooded from the recent rainstorms.
The Police Station still has 3 to 4 inches of water in the office. He contacted the insurance company and the
department has several thousand dollars of damage to the dry wall, tile, computers,
office furniture, cabinets and holes in the roof. They couldn’t shut the front door because it is swollen and
busted and there’s mold and mildew. The
insurance company advised him to contact a cleaning crew. The entire office needs to be gutted out due
to the water damage and molding problem.
Ron brought in pictures to show the damage. They
need to be relocated eventually but right now they need to find a
temporary place to operate from. There
are two vacant buildings in Town that are being considered for
a temporary location for the Police Department, the old Harley Davidson
building with monthly rent of $3,500 and the old dentist office with a monthly
rent of $1,600. Another possibility is a modular portable
building.
Dave Sorokoty -
Agreed the walls and floors can be replaced but there will still be black mold,
which is a health hazard. It is getting expensive to keep replacing and
repairing Ron’s office because of flooding.
He spoke to Vi Simpson about checking with FEMA about the department
being located in a flood plain.
Ron McGlocklin - Said that Service Master would be
cleaning it up. The insurance adjuster
will hopefully be there tomorrow. He
asked the Council to look into finding another facility for the Police
Department because they will not be able to work during the clean up
process.
Ed Bitner - Suggested the Police wait to find a
place to relocate until summer then the school would be available.
Jerry Pittsford – Asked if we could use the insurance
settlement to pay toward another building instead of toward repairs?
David Drake – Replied if it is a health hazard we will
have to repair, seal or demolish the building.
Since it is not a total loss he doesn’t feel the insurance would pay for
repairs and then allow the building to just sit there while we relocate to
another facility. The Police Department
should be our first priority. Flooding impacts both the Fire Department and the
Police Department, but the Fire Department has a garage downstairs and their
office upstairs so it is less of an impact.
He said they must find a solution.
Geraldine McIntyre – Reminded everyone this is the second
time the Police Department has been flooded and they need a new permanent
location.
Jerry Pittsford- Asked Mike Spencer if we could negotiate
with insurance to not go back into this building.
David Sorokoty – Said the Police Department is less than
1,000 square feet. Dave assured Ron
that the Council has already started addressing this situation by looking for a
temporary and a permanent location to house the Police Department.
Sandra Hash – State Board of Accounts will hold their
annual meeting on June 11 through 13 in Indianapolis. Clerk-Treasurers and Deputy Clerks are required to attend.
Geraldine McIntyre - Monroe County Solid Waste decided at the last meeting to go back to using the original landfill and will no longer be using the bailer. This will allow Bloomington and Ellettsville to dispose of more wastewater sludge at the landfill. She also invited all of the Council to a dedication at Crane on June 5th, 2002.
Jerry Pittsford – Thanked all the employees for their work during the flood.
David Sorokoty – Also commended employees and citizens who helped out during the flood.
Adjournment
David Sorokoty asked
for a motion to adjourn. David Drake
moved for adjournment. Mike Cornman
seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 9:42
p. m.
_____________________________ __________________________
David Sorokoty, President David Drake, Vice President
_____________________________ __________________________
Mike Cornman Jerry Pittsford
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Geraldine McIntyre Sandra C. Hash, Clerk-Treasurer