The
Ellettsville, Indiana,
Roll Call: Members
present were Patrick Stoffers,
President; William Evans, Vice President; Phillip Rogers and
Supervisors Present:
Approval of the minutes
William
Evans made a motion to approve the minutes for the regular meeting on
Action to Pay Accounts Payable Vouchers
William
Evans made a motion to pay the Accounts Payable Vouchers. Phillip Rogers seconded. Motion carried.
Final-adoption of the 2006 budget
Sandra
Hash gave a summary of the 2006 budget.
v General Fund’s budget is $1,731,986.91 this includes
the Administration, Planning, Fire and Police of the Town with
v
v
v Park and Recreation budget is $14,712 which is a
reduction of $4,700 from 2005
v Local Roads and Streets, Law Enforcement Continuing
Education and Cumulative Fund equal $173,120
v The debt service fund for the Police and Fire equal
$331,000
v The total budget for 2006 is $2,654,892.82
v The Maximum Levy Growth Quotient for 2006 is 3.9% down
from 4.4% in 2005
Patrick
asked for any public comments. There
were none.
William
Evans made a motion to adopt the 2006 budget for the Town of
Proclamation commemorating George Webb’s
40th Anniversary
Sandra
read the Proclamation in its entirety stating George Webb has served the
community loyally and with integrity for the Ellettsville Utilities the last
Forty years. Therefore in recognition of
this, the Ellettsville Town Council does hereby proclaim
William
Evans made a motion we make
Resolutions
Resolution 09-05 adopting the National
Incident Management System (NIMS)
Mike
Cornman, Deputy Fire Chief, explained this new system is due to the events of 9/11. There is a need to have a management system to
allocate resources. A lot of communities
have something in place but nothing with this magnitude. The Department of
Homeland Security through PD-5 states all levels of government adopt a NIMS
system which is a consistent nationwide approach for Federal, State and local
governments to work effectively together in a time of need. NIMS is a core set of concepts, principles, terminology
and organization processes. It is not an
operational plan. It does not tell
police officers how to do their job or tell the Street Department which roads
to fix first after a disaster. It helps
coordinate and minimize the confusion so when you call for additional resources
everyone is on the same page from the entry level worker to the leader of
FEMA. Currently throughout our county
they are not. Local jurisdictions have
to meet the NIMS requirements by the end of fiscal year (October 2006). As a condition of our compliance, we will be
able to apply and receive all Federal and State grants. The Van Buren Township
advisory board is the only agency in the county that has adopted this
resolution. To implement this we need to
educate, assess, integrate, validate and utilize. Everyone needs to be trained in the different
levels. All Town employees should be
trained in the IS100 and IS700 Level of Incident Command Training. We would have to identify who will be in
what positions in a major incident and what level training they should
get. This training can be done on the
internet. The Fire Department will hold
a couple of classes and make it readily available for all the Town employees to
get completed. It is strongly
recommended elected officials take at least the IS100 and IS700 courses. If it is in your plan for an elected official
to do more at a command post, then they may need additional training. We need adoption of this resolution to get
everyone on the core set of principles.
One of the biggest challenges the fire department is experiencing is in
the radio system. They use ten codes and
signals but under the NIMS, the codes are eliminated. Some items are already in place and we just
need to get it tooled into the right box.
John
Hooker,
William
Evans made a motion we adopt Resolution 09-05 adopting the National Incident
Management System (NIMS). Phillip Rogers
seconded. Motion carried.
Resolution 10-05 transfer of funds for
the Fire Department
Sandra
explained this transfer of $1,000.00 from the Training Aids & Schools into
Building Maintenance. It is a
classification change but it is still within the fire budget.
William
Evans made a motion to accept Resolution 10-05 transfer of funds for the Fire
Department. Phillip Rogers
seconded. Motion carried.
Ordinances
on Second
Ordinance
05-18 to amend sections 33.75 - 33.78 and to add sections 33.79 - 33.82 of the
Ron McGlocklin, Town Marshal, asked for this ordinance
to be tabled. William Evans made a
motion to table Ordinance 05-18. Phillip
Rogers seconded. Motion carried.
Ordinance
05-19 concerning the annexation of property on the corner of Deer Run and
Rick Coppock, Bynum
Fanyo and Associates, represented the petitioner who is requesting annexation
of .54 acres at Deer Run and
Frank Nierzwicki, Director Planning Services, reminded
the board this annexation was brought before the Plan Commission and was
recommended to be annexed into the Town.
William Evans made a motion that we adopt ordinance
05-19 concerning the annexation of adjacent and contiguous territory of the
Ellettsville Town Code. Phillip Rogers
seconded. Motion carried.
Privilege of the Floor – non Agenda
Items
Don Fisher wanted to follow up on the last time he addressed the
Council concerning a master plan for communication between the council and
various department heads. The council
turns over more frequently than the department heads. We just honored an employee for 40 years of
service. The problem is the council does
not turn over at one time. The town has
a planner who will hopefully put together some goals to work with the street
department and the council for the growth of our town. The planner is trying to tap into some money
which always seems to be a problem.
Don
also wanted to follow up with the brush issue.
What are the results with the street department picking up of the brush since
it is not in their job description.
After the last meeting, some of the same people are putting brush back
on the streets. What progresses we are
making on letting people know on television tonight what the ordinance on grass
and brush is. Patrick replied the street
department has 26 miles of roads. They spent
most of last week picking up brush. They
can not be every where all at one time.
He assured Don they have been out taking care of that activity. Don feels the Street Department should not be
picking up the brush. He wants the
people to stop putting the brush on the curbs. He then asked if the town was
now offering this service. Patrick replied
that historically we have picked up this material. We own a chipper. We have the equipment to do this kind of
activity. Don then wanted to clarify
this is a service provided by the town.
Patrick said, “Clearly we do this activity”. Don felt we should contract out for brush and
mowing so the street department can take care of the streets.
His
next issue was the streets. He feels
there should be some “master plan” by which the street department
operates. The streets need to be done by
a certain time on a 360 degree timetable. There are new additions and the people should
go to the interior of the older additions and see what we “are not”
providing. He feels the Street Department
is not doing what they are supposed to be doing. There is more tax money but less
service. The town has increased the
taxes but has not been able to keep up with the demand. The Police and Fire Department moved from a
building due to flood and then the Street Department moved in. The streets in Arrowhead will be pulverized
by next winter. The streets are cracked,
deteriorating and have water holes. They
have been patched but not resurfaced.
This is a problem that needs to be resolved. In Deer Run, the concrete is breaking
up. This needs to be repaired. When the four lane highway was being put in, Town
employees were used to move things out of the way. All the businesses were interrupted. The neighborhoods suffered because of
this. Everything was put on hold. He invited the Council to walk from Apache to
Navaho up to
Don
then asked Mike Farmer why the water and sewer rates have not gone down since
the town has many new additions, more houses and people paying water bills. Is
there some way to put all this extra revenue into some interest bearing fund to
compensate the residents? He reminded
the Council this was a campaign issue to confront the water department. There has not been a ban on water. There are
more users and the sewer, which is the biggest part of the bill, why is it not
subsidized some how through some investments?
Is it being spent or some place building up? There are more people using this service and
I don’t believe we need to dump everything to restructure. We already have the sewer plant and some
changes in certain things like water lines.
If there is more money coming in, than projected for the 30 year bond,
what kind of reserves will we have to flow over or index with a guaranteed
return but no loss for the town? That
would be the citizens’ investment portfolio to compensate and subsidize water
rates. Mike Farmer invited Don to make
an appointment at his office and he will show him the books, explain how much
money is in the bank, how they spend the money, how much is left over and what
the reserves are. He will be glad to
give Don any information at the office.
Don wanted Mike to make a statement to the public pertaining to future
possibilities of lower water cost with greater usages. Patrick Stoffers added Mike Farmer should not
be expected to pull numbers out on the spot. He feels Mike is being very
gracious in offering to show the books to Don which is all public record. He encourages Don to make the appointment at
Mike’s office. Don asked Patrick if he
has been reviewing the cost of the water as a Council Member and if he is
concerned with the water rates and the reserves. Patrick
answered when we add more customers to the system; we need to purchase more
water from
Don
requested a statement regarding the street situation. Patrick pointed out Jim Ragle and his
department do a fabulous job. They do
the very best they can. Jim’s crew will
continue to do the mowing, pick up brush and take a look at all the specific suggestions.
Jim Ragle will continue to run his
department and decide which activities they will handle day to day. Don feels there are too many irons in the
fire and too many things to do that can not be done. Patrick answered that Jim is capable of addressing
his own concerns to the Council to help him meet any needs of the department or
the town. Patrick then added other
people are waiting to speak and Jim Ragle is welcome to speak during the Supervisors
Comments if he chooses to do so.
Ed Bittner commented on Don Fisher’s statement about the four
lane highway making Ellettsville look new going through town. Ed doesn’t appreciate the comment because he
lives on that four lane highway. He then
commented on the water and sewer rates adding he has been keeping tabs on the
rates for his house for the last three years. His usage basically stayed the
same except for the water rate increase when the city raised their rate. He also mentioned the street department
picking up storm related brush once a month.
Supervisors Comments
Ron McGlocklin, Town Marshal,
brought to the Council’s attention the Police Department had their third
qualification shoot Saturday and all the officers passed with flying
colors. The Police Department now has
four certified state instructors. For the first time in Ellettsville’s history
two officers (Jacobs and Harris) qualified as firearm instructors. Mike and Jeff Farmer were guests at the
shooting. Officers Jacobs and Harris
were very helpful instructing Mike and Jeff on proper techniques and handling
of a weapon on the range. William Evans
asked about the list of things to finish the police station. Ron answered the landscape, door locks and a
gutter problem. The contractor, Mr. Neidigh,
has been contacted six times with no response.
Mike and Jeff Farmer, Ellettsville Utilities, commented on George
Webb. Mike said since he has been
working here George has been very dedicated, cooperative, friendly and a very
good employee to work around. Mike and
Jeff personally want to thank George for his commitment to doing a good
job. Mike appreciates George being here
and thinks he was here two years before water got here. Jeff added they had an open house for George
and also Dave Hough who has 38 years of service. Together they said they built the first
outhouse in Ellettsville. Jeff also
wanted to comment on the Police Department shoot and how professional they were. Jeff said he killed two fox squirrels and
Mike shot a tree in half.
Dennis Williamson congratulated George and Dave for their service. He also thanked Mike Cornman for bringing the
resolution on the NIMS to the council.
He wanted to submit his certificate of NIMS. He is the first Council Member to complete
his NIMS training. He then mentioned he
would be out town on business for the next meeting.
William Evans also congratulated George and Dave for spending the
time they have with the Town. It is
highly commendable. Also thank you to
the Police Department and Reserves for doing so many things people do not
realize.
Adjournment
Phillip
Rogers made a motion to adjourn. William
Evans seconded. Motion carried.
Meeting
adjourned at