October 22, 2024 Meeting Minutes
- alyssaknepple5
- Oct 22, 2024
- 5 min read
SOUTH WHITLEY TOWN COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
TOWN HALL BOARD ROOM
118 E FRONT ST
SOUTH WHITLEY, IN 46787
OCTOBER 22, 2024
6:30 PM
CALL TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order by Council President Randy Cokl at 6:30 pm. Members present were as follows: Council President Randy Cokl, Vice President Brock Waterson, Councilman Trey Weber, Utility Supervisor Kent Slater, Town Marshal Mikel Vandevender, Town Attorney Greg Hockemeyer, and Clerk-Treasurer Alyssa Knepple.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ADJUSTMENTS
NONE
NEW BUSINESS
IMPA REPORT: Mike Adams and Dirk Garriott came from IMPA to present the Council with the half-time report. This report gives services provided by IMPA and compares those to past years. They also discussed how they are working to increase their presence in Northeastern Indiana with contracting a couple other communities. IMPA will also be working on re-routing and updating the electrical lines at AG Plus. This would also include new poles. IMPA would like to work with Kent and the Council to implement a maintenance check on our light poles and equipment. This would help with the number of outages in our area. IMPA is implementing a readiness status to inform communities of the amount of time a service might take to restore. This will come in handy with natural disasters and extreme weather coming through Indiana.
WATER EMERGENCY PLAN: The water emergency plan has been in place for the last 15-20 years. This plan has been reviewed and updated by the council. Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept the updates and the water emergency plan. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.
FUTURE PARK PLANS: Councilman Weber expressed interest in researching and installing a kayak and canoe “vending” machine down by river. It would bring more tourists and revenue to the Town and our local businesses. We could look into having a pickup/drop off point up or down river and possibly even partner with another town to set one up as well. Councilman Waterson stated Mr. McCarty, who submitted a bid for the downtown buildings, said he has a friend who is in the business of kayak and canoe rentals. He has expressed interest in speaking with the council about different opportunities for the river launch and rentals.
Carol Eberly has contacted the council to request a change of the street light bulb down by her restaurant. They have been out all summer, and the utility department will get those changed. The delay was because of the downtown light replacement project, the Town was hoping those lights would have been replaced already.
PARK INTERNET: Councilman Cokl has been looking into the cost of supplying some of the Town’s public areas with free Wi-Fi internet. Surf Net has one gig for $135 per month or two gigs for $175. Surf Net would supply two routers with free installation, one at Lebrun and one at the Town Park. The Clerk-Treasurer said she would look at the budget for 2025 and see if that would be a doable extra expense. This topic was tabled for the next meeting.
OLD BUSINESS
OFFICER ON-CALL PAY: Councilman Waterson asked about how the pay was helping cover on call hours. Marshal Vandevender said it has helped with on-call coverage and officers taking extra hours. Councilman Waterson then made a motion to make officers working hours on-call continue to receive the $20.00 per hour pay rate, until further notice. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.
LIGHT POLE BID APPROVAL: Councilman Cokl opened the light pole bids on October 16, 2024, at a public meeting. There was only one bid for the light poles from Mr. Tanner Moyer. He would like to purchase three lights: two smaller sizes for $395 and one large size for $325. Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept the bid from Mr. Moyer for the three poles at $395 for small and $325 for large. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.
PUBLIC INPUT
KAREN JORDAN: Would like to know if the Council is going to hire a grant writer in 2025 that would help restore and paint the old water tower. Also agrees that putting a kayak and canoe rental down at the river launch. There are other opportunities that the Council can take to develop Hagan Park. It is a great place for trail activities or a disc golf course.
DEPARTMENT HEADS:
PARK BOARD – DAVE WARNER:
WASTE WATER/UTILITIES SUPERVISOR – KENT SLATER:
· Road construction is still ongoing but is now behind schedule. This is because the water line on the corner of Maple and Broad Streets has been difficult to reattach to the new lines to the new main and might need to be rerouted. Sidewalks and streets should be visible on Maple Street soon.
TOWN MARSHAL – MIKEL VANDEVENDER: Nothing to present at this time.
TOWN ATTORNEY – GREGG HOCKEMEYER:
· Working on contract for Brian McCarty with the Town to develop the buildings at 206 & 208 South State Street. That should be ready for signatures by the end of the week.
CLERK-TREASURER – ALYSSA KNEPPLE:
· There has been discussion about whether Officer Thomas should be eligible to receive the extra K9 PTO hours K9 officers are entitled to. Marshal Vandevender stated that because legally the Town must give him that time. It is a touchy subject because he is the SRO, and the school owns the dog. Attorney Hockemeyer said he will look into the issue and see what he can find out. It will be discussed again at the next meeting.
APPROVALS:
APPROVAL FOR OCTOBER 8TH REGULAR MEETING MINUTES: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept October 8th regular meeting minutes. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.
APPROVAL FOR BANK RECONCILIATION FOR JULY 2024: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept bank reconciliation from July 2024. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.
APPROVAL FOR OCTOBER 22ND APV’s TOTALING $ 265,785.30: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept October 22nd APV’s in the amount of $265,785.30. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.
APPROVAL FOR PAYROLL WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 14, 2024, TOTALING $ 12,745.36: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept payroll for the week ending October 14 totaling $12,745.36. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.
APPROVAL FOR PAYROLL WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 21, 2024, TOTALING $ 11,152.17: Councilman Waterson made a motion to accept payroll for the week ending October 21 totaling $11,152.17. Councilman Weber seconded. Motion passed with a vote of 3-0.
ADJOURN at: Meeting was adjourned at 7:21 PM by Council President Randy Cokl.
APPROVALS:
ATTEST: