July 24, 2006
The
Ellettsville, Indiana, Town
Council met in regular
session on Monday, July 24, 2006, at the Fire Department Training and Conference
Room. Patrick Stoffers called the
meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Lisa Creech led in prayer and
William Evans led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll Call: Members
present were Patrick Stoffers, President; William Evans, Vice President; Lisa
Creech, Phillip Rogers and Dennis
Williamson. Sandra
Hash, Clerk Treasurer and Mike Spencer, Attorney was also present.
Supervisors Present: Jim Davis, Jim Ragle, Ron McGlocklin, Jeff
Farmer and Frank Nierzwicki were present.
Approval of the minutes
Lisa
Creech made a motion to approve the minutes for the Regular Meeting of July 10, 2006 and Budget Meetings on June 28 and July 12, 2006. William Evans
seconded. Motion carried.
Action to Pay Accounts Payable Vouchers
Lisa
Creech made a motion to pay Accounts Payable Vouchers. William Evans seconded. Motion carried.
Open bids for Fire Department surplus
items
Mike Spencer opened and announced the bids. The first bid was from Richard H. Albers
offering $1,001.99 for the 1969 American La France Arrow Chief Snorkel Fire
Apparatus selling as is. The next bid
was from John Mullen for the 1995 Ford Crown Victoria. He offered
two sets of PBI Fire Firefighter turn out gear.
It was clarified the two sets of gear had a value of $1,700.
Lisa Creech made a motion to take the bids we received tonight
for the American La France and the 1995 Ford Crown Victoria under advisement. William Evans seconded.
Motion carried.
New Business
Sewer Certification Letter
Mike Spencer explained Ellettsville submitted a certification
letter to IDEM (Indiana Department of Environmental Management) working out the
language for accepting flow. The letter used
for several years is no longer acceptable.
Jeff Farmer said the original letter needed to be reworded so the
Town was not responsible for any bypasses or overflows Eastern Richland Sewer
Corporation might have. The Town runs its
own system and Eastern Richland Sewer Corporation run their own and the
language needed to be cleared up with IDEM.
Ted Ferguson, Attorney for Eastern Richland Sewer Corporation
stated, Eastern Richland has a contract with the Town for wastewater treatment
services originally 60 years in length.
The contract started in 1971.
Eastern was allocated 3,300 hook ups under the contract and they have
used 1,600. This letter will provide
simplification for customers and developers in the area; they will not have to
go to two different places to get an agreement.
Eastern Richland is professionally advised by Smith Neubecker and Associates
and other consultants. Jeff and Mike Farmer are doing a great job keeping the plant operating
well within the limits. Eastern Richland will become more familiar with the capacity of their
lines. This makes good sense.
Lisa
Creech made a motion to approve the revised language on the sewer certification
letter for Patrick Stoffers’ signature.
William Evans seconded. Motion
carried.
Update on the progress of the
Redevelopment Commission
Frank Nierzwicki, Director of Planning Services met with the
Redevelopment Commission on July 20, 2006. The Officers
were chosen for this Commission as follows:
Frank Buczolich, President; David Drake, Vice President; Ray
Freetage, Secretary and Amber
Ragle, Treasurer. They looked at some areas that may need redevelopment
in the future: Cedar Bluff Gardens, the old Speedway gas station and the Robinson Block area on Vine Street. At the July
Redevelopment meeting the Commission decided the Robinson Block area should be
looked at for redevelopment. The
Commission has asked the staff to start looking at an area bounded by the one
way pairs (Main and Temperance) from Sale Street east to the Village Inn area
and then across Main Street into the Wever/Burrell properties. The staff will be looking at the parcels and
procedures for the next steps. The next
meeting will be August 24th.
He hopes to have the Advisory Board in place at that meeting. The Redevelopment Commission is looking for
areas under developed at this point.
Patrick asked “why stop at Sale and not jump over Sale going west”?
Frank said there is a parcel on the west side of Sale. They are
looking at the parcels on either side of Sale between Main and
Temperance. They may look further to
expand the district. He is looking at
the number of parcels to determine the assessed valuation.
Supervisors’ comments
Lisa Creech explained the meeting with the Meadowlands residents
regarding speeding went very well. There
was a good turn out with a lot of discussion and good suggestions. Hopefully by July 31st some
budgetary items can be discussed and a plan put together by the August 28th
meeting. She asked for a representative
from the Meadowlands, Kelli Heights and Paddington Park to come forward with possible solutions for the
neighborhoods.
William Evans thanked the Marshal and entire Police force for the
vigilance they keep up with on speeding through Town.
Privilege of the Floor – non Agenda
Items
Jeana Kapczynski, President Ellettsville Main Street presented a resolution the Main Street Board adopted
in June 2006 concerning the Ball State Design study. She read the resolution in its entirety but
first thanked Jim Ragle and his crew for putting up the banners. Main Street is $500 short if anyone would like to make a
donation.
Ellettsville Main Street, Inc. Resolution
Regarding Sign Enforcement Resolution by
The Ellettsville Plan Commission, Adopted May 11, 2006
Whereas, Ellettsville Main Street, Inc., has as its stated
mission statement “Working together to
revitalize our community while preserving Ellettsville’s heritage”,
Whereas, the Town of Ellettsville has previously adopted the Ellettsville Design and
Beautification Guidelines developed by Ball State University’s Community Based Projects division of the College of Architecture and Planning, which addressed the issues of Sign
Design and Enforcement in the town center as well as the SR 46 corridor;
Whereas, this document stated “One of the most readily apparent aspects of town character is
signage. Since signs are intended to be
highly visible and attract attention, they often produce a lasting impression
on visitors and provide an indication of the commercial health of a business
district. Many town residents, business
people and town officials are not fully aware of the highly significant role
signage plays in the image their town presents to resident and visitors
alike. Sign codes are enacted to help
improve the visual appearance of towns…Since SR 46 acts as an entry way to the
older and more densely settle town center, signage should be compatible with
that in the Town Center. The goal of regulation in this area is to
encourage legible signage for commercial facilities and to identify goods and
services available, while deterring excessive visual competition which lowers
the quality of the townscape. Special
care must be taken with signage to avoid the clutter and confusion associated
with commercial “strip” development and to avoid becoming a center of visual
blight”.
Now, be it therefore resolved by the Board of
Directors of Ellettsville Main Street, Inc. that the Board recommends to the Town Council that the Sign Enforcement Resolution of 5/11/06 be supported by the Town Council.
The Board further resolves and hereby recommends to
the Town Council that the Sign Design guidelines outlined in the Ball State
Design and Beautification Guidelines are further studied, developed into
specific guidelines and an implementation action plan is developed for both the
town center and the SR 46 corridor to enhance the visual impression of
Ellettsville and guide travelers to their destinations.
Adopted this 19th day of June,
2006.
Ellettsville Main Street, Inc. Board of
Directors
Jeana Kapczynski, President
Directors:
Jeana Kapczynski, Leasa Farkas, Ellen Cowell, David Phillipy, Chris
Fisher, Adrienne Schmetzer, Ranee Love, Diana Graves