ANDREWS TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF PUBLIC
MEETING HELD APRIL 14, 2014
A public meeting of the Town
Council of the Town of Andrews, Indiana convened on Monday April 14, 2014 at
6:00 p.m. in the Andrews Municipal Building in accordance with applicable law
and pursuant to appropriate notice.
ROLL CALL:
Council Members
Raymond Tackett, Michael Rohler and John
Harshbarger were present. Clerk-Treasurer William Johnson declared a
quorum was present and that the meeting would continue.
APPROVAL
OF PRIOR
MINUTES:
Council approved the minutes of
the regular meeting on March 24, 2014. The approved minutes were signed.
GENERAL
BUSINESS:
Council President Rohler read a
letter from the Huntington School Corporation’s attorney dealing with the
possible acquisition of the old tower property by the Corporation for use as an
overflow parking lot. Rohler thanked
Council member Tackett for his efforts in this cause.
Council member Tackett requested
that the Town begin the process of identifying streets that need paved.
Council President read a letter
from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs extending the deadline on the
library project from March 31, 2014 to May 31, 2014.
Rohler led a discussion with the
Town Marshall on the abandoned vehicle issue with the Town Marshall presenting
the Council with a copy of a notice that will be sent to residents whose
vehicles are not being used. Marshall
Vanover stated that he has hopes that this informal procedure will help
eliminate most of the problems.
While discussing the spring
cleanup, Council President asked the Clerk-Treasurer to contact Waste
Management to clear up the confusion with the Vernon Manor Trailer park as it
pertains to the residents who live on the internal street of the park. Rohler
also asked the Clerk-Treasurer to
prepare a list of unacceptable items for the May 2 cleanup so as to allow
residents to understand what can and cannot be set out.
Cathy Johnson, representing the
Andrews Summer Festival, recapped recent fund raising efforts of her
group. She also asked if local elected
officials would volunteer to be included in the “kiss a pig” fund raiser.
Ms. Johnson also asked about the status of
the Western Days concerning the use of the stage and other items that have been
used by that group in the past. Tom
Wuensch, a board member of Western Days, indicated that the stage and tables
belonged to that organization which is currently dormant. When asked by
Ms. Johnson what the status of
that entity is at this time, Mr. Wuensch responded that the group still has
hopes of conducting a festival in the near future. The Council and residents
discussed the
upcoming festival.
OLD
BUSINESS:
Fire Chief Tom Wuensch updated
Council on the departments readiness for the expanded territory coverage as a
result of the new fire contract with Huntington Township.
NEW
BUSINESS:
Clerk-Treasurer Bill Johnson
walked Council through the development of a rating scale to be used at
Wednesday’s interview session with prospective engineering firms who are
seeking the right to compile the Towns planning grant.
Council tabled a proposal from
Keramida which would have contracted the firm to complete a review of the
environmental regulatory files available on the Indiana Department of
Environmental Management Virtual File Cabinet for the former UTEC Voluntary
Remediation Program project. Council
members want to see how much of this information will be included in the
planning grant before moving ahead on this project.
DEPARTMENT REPORTS:
Town Marshall Vanover and Council
members discussed the additions to the reserve police force.
Fire Chief Tom Wuensch updated
Council on the status of the new Township contract, the new air compressor and
adding new members to his staff.
Clerk-Treasurer Bill Johnson asked
if any members were interested in the WHARMM meeting on April 21. Council
members Tackett and Harshbarger
indicated that they would be attending the event. Johnson also discussed the
recent issues that
residents are having with their utility bills due to the extreme winter. Many
residents ran water to keep their pipes
from freezing which along with estimating several meters caused the residents
to have high bills in April. Council
member Tackett expressed a desire to amend the utility ordinance to allow for a
“drip” adjustment. The Clerk-Treasurer
responded that it would be difficult to implement due to a host of variables.
Utility Superintendent Bullock
responded to questions from Council on patching roads, equipment issues, and
other items involving his department.
Bullock stated that his department was hoping to put pads down for the
bleachers at the Mud bog pit and also updated Council on the status of the new
Town garage.
CLAIMS:
All claims
were approved as presented by a unanimous voice
vote after a brief discussion.
Without any
other business, Council adjourned the meeting at
7:56p.m.
