The Ellettsville, Indiana, Town Council met in special session at 6:30 PM, Thursday, January 9, 2003 at the Town Hall. David Sorokoty called the meeting to order. David Sorokoty, President; Ray Freetage and Lisa Combs-Creech were in attendance. Geraldine McIntyre came to the meeting at approximately 7:15 pm. Sandra Hash, Clerk-Treasurer was also present.
Topics of Discussion: Limited-Full Time Position, Hiring a Firm to update the Personnel Policy, Old Elementary School, Police Station, Street Lights and any other topic anyone wishes to discuss.
Supervisors Present: Jim Ragle, Mike Farmer and Ron McGlocklin.
TE Grant application for Street Lights
Rick Coppock
explained he is preparing a TE grant for Streets. The value of the application is $76,650. It will require a 20% match from the
Town. It will be mid summer before the
lights will need to be installed. The
lights will cost about $38,000. The
conduit for the lights and pulling the wire will be an additional $65,000 to $70,000. The deadline for the application is January
31. The Town crews would install the
light onto the foundations. Rick and
Mike agreed to wait six months to see if the grant gets accepted before moving
forward.
At a meeting
earlier that day, Mr. Kain, RBBCSC Superintendent asked Rick if there would
still be a street light at the end of Edgewood Drive. Rick verified there would be.
Police Station
Ron McGlocklin informed the Council he has been in contact with an engineering firm
in Indianapolis who would be willing to do a lease purchase on a building. He is happy with the old water tower site to
house a new police station. It is out
of the flood plain and close to the new highway. The old sewer plant site has not been compacted. It would need to be compacted before a
structure could be built and that would add to the cost. The building he is looking at is 50’ X
123’. It would last well into the
future. The company has offered a 20
year lease-purchase and they would maintain the building until it is paid
off. They will also use local labor on
the building. The current trailer has
served well as a quick fix. They do
feel they need to move out of the way of the Street and Utility
Departments. The parking is inadequate
and often requires moving of vehicles. It was decided to have the engineering
firm give a presentation at the next Council meeting on January 27, 2003.
David Sorokoty questioned building a structure that could be added on to as the Town
could afford it. Ron replied putting it
off would only increase the construction cost.
Ray Freetage stated getting the Police into a permanent home should be a priority
for 2003.
Ron said the
new building would include offices, garage, and evidence room. There was discussion on a holding cell,
which Ron said was out of the picture due to the stringent staffing concerns
and Federal requirements. Someone in
the audience suggested a basement for a good storage area.
David Sorokoty added the Town has $143,000 remaining of a Build Indiana Grant, which
could go toward the Police Station.
Rick Coppock said the proposed new utility building was a long-term plan. The roadwork will take one more year. When that is finished they will start
considering a new building.
Ray Freetage questioned if a new Town Hall were built what would be done with the
existing building. Rick answered it
would be sold.
Old Elementary School Site
David Sorokoty shared his thoughts on the use of the old elementary school. He would like to see the building preserved for
historical purposes; use the gym for community activities such as youth league
basketball and a portion for Town Hall.
By locating the
Utilities and Police at the school a Town Square could be created allowing the
possibility of a farmers market.
The House of
Prayer is interested in using the old school as their church. They would move from their present location
on Hartstraight Road. Ed Bitner, Linda
Webb, Associate Music Minister Nick Carpenter and Associate Pastor Perry
Sanders represented the church. They
envision using the facility as a chapel to seat 2,000 people, house their Hope
School of Excellence, a battered women’s shelter and possibly a homeless
shelter. They would also like to
encourage business development, provide meeting rooms for public use and a
possible convention center. They have
180 full-time volunteers to put their plan in motion. They would only demolish the front wing if absolutely necessary
since it would cost $106,000 to remove the asbestos. There is also refrigerant that would have to be removed if the
building were demolished. They stated
they could make good use of the building just as it is.
There was
discussion of the future chapel and the possibility of rock between the
buildings being a problem for construction.
They discussed the expense of $87,000 per year to operate the building.
The church would like to use the building.
They would like to own it outright, but if the town becomes the owner
the church would still like to use the building. David Sorokoty stated the town and the church should work
together to obtain the building.
Ray Freetage added the taxpayers have already paid for the building it should be
used for community benefit. He likes
everything the church has proposed to do with the building. He would like to work with the church. Ray is opposed to the town purchasing
additional property to build facilities.
Geraldine McIntyre feels the Town should get the property, but she cautioned about the
allergy problems the teachers had in that building due to mold and dampness.
Lisa Combs-Creech requested Jeana Kapczynski share the views of the Main Street
Group. Jeana sees it as a great idea
and suggested a possible feasibility grant.
She added that Shelter Inc. is closing in Bloomington and they will need
a new home. Lisa would like to see Town
Hall move to the school building but feels it would be costly. Other possibilities such as business
incubator, limestone gift shop, and convenience of location were discussed.
Raymond Freetage made a motion directing Sandy to write a letter of intent for the Town
of Ellettsville assuming the property referred to as the old elementary
school. Lisa Combs-Creech seconded,
motion carried. David requested Sandy
to have the letter ready for tomorrow to take to Mr. Kain because the Town
wants the property.
Lisa Combs-Creech asked what would be done with the current House of Prayer site if they
were to acquire the old school property, it would become a teen center or a
youth camp and / or a retreat for the community.
Personnel Policy
David proposed
Sandra get estimates on having a professional firm correct and update the
Personnel Policy. Sandra suggested
letting American Legal, which is currently working on the codification of the
Town Code, bring the Policy up to standard first before the Council works on
amending the Policy because American Legal stated that
they will
verify that it is compliant with Indiana Code and that the terminology is
correct. It is already included in the
price the Town is paying them for the codification so Sandy feels we should not
seek other estimates yet. Lisa
volunteered to read through the policy and look for questions and concerns
during the interim. She also said she
thinks there should be employee input.
Geraldine
suggested the Council President form a committee of two Council members and
Sandra to work on the Policy. They
would go through the Policy and give their input to American Legal. Ray stated he thought the Policy should be
reviewed by all of the Council members after they get the revised version back
from American Legal.
David agreed
that is was a good idea to have the Council review it and that the employees
should have input.
Agreement between
the Town and Ball State University for a Streetscape Plan and a Five-Year
Master Plan for the Parks Department
David Sorokoty
explained that Ball State Professor, Mr. Segedy who was in charge of organizing
the Streetscape project and 5-year Master plan met with the Parks Department
last Tuesday. This is a not for profit
project for his classes, the cost of $11,500 only covers the expenses of the
project. Periodically the plans will be
reviewed because this project will be a working document and according to David,
Mr. Segedy said we could retain his services for a lifetime. This project ties in well with the Main
Street committee, the Schools, the Town Council and a variety of ideas the Town
wants to achieve downtown. This
agreement has already been approved.
TIF District
David and Sandy
met with Barbara Clark yesterday concerning setting up a Tax Increment
Financing (TIF) district in downtown to encourage economic growth. Barbara gave a contact name to get
additional information. David said he
would like to see specialty shops and encourage economic growth, he wants to
develop the corridor between the pairs (from Town Hall to Village Inn) but he
also wants to keep the small town feeling.
Final Comments
David Sorokoty complemented Jim Ragle for his and the
crew’s efforts dealing with all of the snow.
Geraldine McIntyre feels the Town should build a Government
Center on Main Street with a bond issue since interest rates are low. Now is the time to build. She is glad to see the Police Department
take her suggestion and utilize the old water tower site for a new station.
Sandra Hash said it would be costly to build all new
facilities for the Police Department, the Utilities Department and a Town
Hall. Everyone should work together,
it seems more economical to put all the facilities together in a Government
Center instead of building separate buildings.
David Sorokoty summarized the meeting by saying that the
purpose of this session was to narrow down options on several issues and
clarify goals such as finding out what the Utilities Department’s needs are,
getting information from the upcoming presentation on building a new Police
Station and develop a working relationship for the school. He said that everything is a possibility for
now until we get more information.
Adjournment
Geraldine
McIntyre moved for adjournment. Lisa
Combs-Creech seconded. Motion
carried. Meeting was adjourned at 8:10
p. m.
_____________________________ __________________________
David Sorokoty, President David Drake, Vice President
_____________________________ __________________________
Lisa Combs-Creech Ray Freetage
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Geraldine McIntyre Sandra C. Hash, Clerk-Treasurer