February 13, 2024 Meeting Minutes

SOUTH WHITLEY TOWN COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES

TOWN HALL BOARD ROOM

118 E FRONT ST

SOUTH WHITLEY, IN  46787

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

6:30 PM

CALL TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm by Council President Randy Cokl. Members present were as follows: Council President Randy Cokl, Vice President Brock Waterson, Councilman Trey Weber, Town Marshal Mikel Vandevender, Utility Supervisor Kent Slater, Town Attorney Greg Hockemeyer, and Clerk-Treasurer Alyssa Knepple.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

ADJUSTMENTS

BROCK WATERSON	$70.57	Councilman Weber made a motion to accept the adjustment in the amount of $70.57. Councilman Cokl seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 2-0. Councilman Waterson abstained due to conflict of interest.
FELICIA REDMOND	$155.67	Councilman Weber made a motion to accept the adjustment in the amount of $155.67. Councilman Waterson seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.
DALISE KROSKIE	$354.09	Councilman Weber made a motion to accept the adjustment in the amount of $354.09. Councilman Waterson seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.
DIXIE GOODRICH	$39.01	Councilman Weber made a motion to accept the adjustment in the amount of $39.01. Councilman Waterson seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.
NATHAN CARPENTER	$323.36	Councilman Weber made a motion to accept the adjustment in the amount of $323.36. Councilman Waterson seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.

NEW BUSINESS

WHITLEY COUNTY HUMANE SHELTER 2024 CONTRACT: Councilman Weber made a motion to accept the WCHS 2024 contract in the amount of $3,000. Councilman Waterson seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.

OLD BUSINESS

CHRISTMAS LIGHTING CONTEST WINNERS: Winners were not present. Item was not discussed.

206 & 208 PROPERTY: Brent Reed and Councilman Waterson have been in discussions about the Town taking possession back on the properties. Councilman Waterson said at this point, Mr. Reed is asking for $5,000 for the Parrot and grass lot.

STATE STREET PROPERTY: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept another $2,000 worth of clean up work to be done by Matt Long. Councilman Weber seconded the motion. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0. Karen Jordan asked what exactly the Council had planned for the property and Councilman Waterson said it is still being discussed among the Councilman because they all have different visions.

OLD SHINDIGZ BUILDING: Councilman Waterson asked about any updates about the purchasing of the old Shindigz building. Utility Supervisor Kent Slater said he hasn’t heard anything since IMPA came to look at the electrical issues. IMPA said it was an update that would be possible, they just need more information to get products and services lined up to begin the work.

PUBLIC INPUT

KAREN JORDAN:

·        Mrs. Jordan asked about the camper ordinance and Town Marshal Vandevender said he has found an ordinance that states campers cannot be parked off-street. He is looking more into the ordinance and what it all entails.

·        She has been looking into signs that can be posted around town that instructed residents to pick up after their dogs and the signs would include bags for disposal. She said they are about $500 a piece but would be nice to have them in different locations around town, especially the parks and walking trails.

·        Mrs. Jordan asked about the autopay program the Clerk had mentioned a couple meetings ago. Clerk Knepple informed her the office staff is currently in training and working with InvoiceCloud to have the program available by May of 2024.

·        She also asked the council if they would be willing to talk with the owner of Subway to get a mural painted on the side of the building since it is one of the first things to be seen when driving into town. There was some discussion on other locations that could also benefit from a mural.

·        She also expressed her concerns about the amount of trash and recycling bins that are on the sides of the street throughout the week. She asked the council to send something to residents asking them not to leave the toters out all the time and bring them in when not being serviced. It would make the town look cleaner and not so junky. Clerk Knepple stated she would include a message on the memo line of the March utility bills to please be considerate and bring your cans in when not in use.

DEPARTMENT HEADS:

PARK BOARD – DAVE WARNER: A wind screen has been purchased for the pickleball court that will have the logo of Whitley County Community Foundation. The Foundation was one of the main donators to the pickleball court. The park board has also looked into purchasing a swing set that will cost about $6,000 for White Rock Park. Clerk Knepple brought up the concern about the park being so close to the railroad tracks and her worry about kids running onto those tracks. The council suggested looking into getting some more trees to help create a natural boundary between the park and the tracks.

WASTEWATER/UTILITIES SUPERVISOR – KENT SLATER:

·        ROSS WALKER PERMIT APPLICATION: Mr. Walker would like to put fire exit windows in for the apartment he is putting in below the laundromat. The council would like more information about how he plans to keep the hole covered to help pedestrians not fall in the hole. Topic was tabled for a future meeting. ADA compliance was also a concern.

·        RLM/SURF NET: Fiber is almost ready for installation. RLM is finishing up a couple of streets and then Surf Net will be in to put in the actual fiber to get residents/customers up and running.

·        IDEM: They are giving the Town a couple more months of monitoring before they decide on Phase B of the wastewater project. They are specifically looking for overflowing due to increased rain and weather. IDEM will be reevaluating the plant in August of 2024.

·        CJV: This is a new machine shop in town that purchased the old DNC Construction Company and their current building needs more expandable power. Kent will be working with IMPA to get this updated, but Kent wanted to know if the Town was okay with paying for the upgrade.

TOWN MARSHAL – MIKEL VANDEVENDER:

·        BODY CAMERAS: The police department would like to purchase new body cameras. The current ones have been used for the last 8 years and are now starting to malfunction. There have been cases where having the body cameras working correctly would have helped with the outcome and Marshal Vandevender talked to three of the better priced companies and received quotes.

o   Motorola would allow the town to pay annually for 5 years and will replace the equipment after 3 years. They also have a good warranty on their products. The price was slightly higher than Marshal Vandevender wanted to pay with a total of $26,478.00.

o   ProVision was the cheapest option, but they wanted all of the cost upfront, didn’t have the best warranty, nor did the cost include the software to blur out faces in the background. The price for ProVision was $23,955.00.

o   Axon is the manufacturer the department currently uses for body cameras and the officers were happy with them until they started malfunctioning because of their age. The cost from AXON would be $24,110 split into 5 annual payments. AXON will also replace the equipment in year three at no extra cost. The price also includes the software to blur and a significant amount of Cloud storage.

·        Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept the quote and purchase body cameras and equipment from AXON in the amount of $24,110. Councilman Weber seconded the motion. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.

·        SRO CONTRACT: Officer Thomas has expressed some concern about using his comp time for all snow days. He earns comp time when he works school events and then can use that time for time off instead of earning overtime. Marshal Vandevender thinks this policy needs to be looked over again and reevaluated. He would like to give the SRO position 3 snow days before they must use comp time. The school gets three free snow days, so it makes sense that the SRO should receive 3 free days as well. Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept the new policy of 3 snow days for the SRO to use only when school is closed. This will also be retroactive as of 1/1/2024. Councilman Weber seconded the motion. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0. 

TOWN ATTORNEY – GREGG HOCKEMEYER: Filled out and voted yes on a class action claims. He is also working on the EEOC discrimination suit against the town regarding a previous employee.

CLERK-TREASURER – ALYSSA KNEPPLE: Nothing to bring up at this time.

APPROVALS:

APPROVAL FOR JANUARY 9, 2024, REGULAR MEETING MINUTES: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept meeting minutes from January 9, 2024. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.

APPROVAL FOR BANK RECONCILIATIONS SEPTEMBER THROUGH DECEMBER 2023: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept bank reconciliations from September 2023 through December 2023. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.

APPROVAL FOR APV’s TOTALING $ 400,910.03: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept APV’s totaling $400,910.03. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.

APPROVAL FOR PAYROLL WEEK ENDING JANUARY 15, 2024, TOTALING $11,123.59: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept payroll for $11,123.59. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.

APPROVAL FOR PAYROLL WEEK ENDING JANUARY 22, 2024, TOTALING $9,988.03: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept payroll for $9,988.03. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.

APPROVAL FOR PAYROLL WEEK ENDING JANUARY 29, 2024, TOTALING $9,562.28: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept payroll for $9,562.28. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.

APPROVAL FOR PAYROLL WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2024, TOTALING $8,643.05: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept payroll for $8,643.05. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.

APPROVAL FOR PAYROLL WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 12, 2024, TOTALING $ 9,221.98: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept payroll for $9,221.98. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.

ADJOURN at: Meeting was adjourned at 7:32 pm by Council President Randy Cokl.

APPROVALS:

                                                                                                                        ATTEST: