May 12 , 2004

The regular monthly meeting of the Millersburg Town Council was held on Wednesday May 12th, 2004 at 6:30 P.M. at the Millersburg Town Hall.

James Winkler called the regular meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

A motion was made by James Winkler to approve the minutes for April 28th, 2004.   The motion was seconded by Abe Beachy and carried by a unanimous voice vote.

New Business

• Pete Hochstetler representing Brian Johnson who resides at 115 S. Monroe Street would like to pave an area the size of 10’ X 24’ for more parking. Mr. Hochstetler presented a drawing to the Council showing the location of the paved area.   After a short discussion the Council approved the request. Utility Superintendent Ben Eldridge was instructed to check and make sure no water or sewer lines will be affected.
• Brandy Ellis a resident that lives at 401 E. Lincoln St. Millersburg would like to address the Council about starting a business which consists of catalog sales. After a short discussion about zoning and parking the Council approved the request.
• Mark Grady Operation Manager of Quality Cablevision was present to discuss the new Cable contract. President James Winkler informed Mr. Grady how disappointed he is in the lack of response from Quality Cablevision concerning the cable contract.  Mr. Grady did apologize to the Council for his lack of responding to the calls made by the town. The Council and Mr. Grady went through the contract page by page. Council President Winkler addressed the items that were taken out and needed to be put back into the contract. One item was the language for holding the town harmless this item would be put back into the contract. Council President Winkler asked Mr. Grady what was the term of the contract as it was not mentioned in the contract. Mr. Grady replied that the typical term was for 15 years, but the council after a short discussion decided that they wanted to obligate the town for a five (5) year contract. The contract had two options for cost of the franchise. One option was for a flat fee of $300.00 a year and the other was for 3% of sales per year. After a long discussion the Council agreed that the town would go with the 3% of sales option and a five (5) year contract. Mr. Grady agreed to make the changes and send them to be reviewed by the Town of Millersburg‘s attorney Doug Hayes. Mr. Grady will return for the May 26th, 2004 meeting with the corrected contract for approval.

Park

• Park Board President Lee Nisley was present and informed the Council that a child had broken their leg at the park. The child was very young and was not participating in the ball games, but was a spectator. President Nisley was concerned what effect the accident might have on the town’s liability insurance. President Nisley checked with the town’s insurance agent and was told that any accidents that happen at the park should be report to F.M. Teal directly. The insurance company will usually pay the medical bills without incident to keep the town from being sued. President Nisley asked if the town knew of anything we could do to protect the town from liability claims. The Council agreed that accidents will happen and the town can’t stop having events at the park because someone may get hurt. The town will make sure it has enough liability insurance and keep things as safe as possible.
• President Nisley informed the Council that he has not gotten the signs for the ball diamonds finished and that he was working on getting them.
• President Nisley informed the Council that he will be out of town and won’t be at the park board meeting on Monday May 17th, 2004 and he has appointed Park Board member Steve Vail to cover responsibly for the concession stand money. President Nisley asked if Mr. Vail would be covered by our bond. The Clerk/Treasurer informed President Nisley that the Park Board is cover under the blanket bond.
• President Nisley presented a recommendation to hire Emily Miller as the part time Summer Program Coordinator at the rate of $14.00 per hour.   The Council approved President Nisleys recommendation.

Water Superintendent

• Monthly report-See attached.
• The Council chose the winners of the water awareness coloring contest. The theme for the contest was “The Wonder of Water”.  Superintendent presented posters from the 4 th, 5 th and 6 th grades. The Council chose the poster from Mr. Engle’s 4 th grade class as the winner. The class will be rewarded with a pizza party. The kindergarten, first, second and third grades colored individual pictures and the winners were: Kindergarten-Jennifer Miller, 1st grade-Jeremy Bontrager, 2nd grade-Diane Nisley, 3rd grade-Michael Bontrager. All the entries were good so the Council and Superintendent Eldridge decided to treat all the classes with dilly bars from Diary Queen.
• Superintendent Eldridge asked the Council for permission to take the week of June 7 th through June 11 th, 2004 off for a vacation. The Council approved.

Wastewater Superintendent

• Monthly report-See attached. Superintendent Eldridge informed the Council that the amount of water billed compared to water treated isn’t correct due to the hydrants being flushed this month and people watering their yards and gardens.

Maintenance Director

• Monthly report-See attached
• Resident Jack Lantz Jr. that lives at 422 E. Lincoln has informed the Maintenance Director that he will pay for the concrete and do most of the labor himself for the new sidewalk he is putting in at his residence. Mr. Lantz would like to have the maintenance department to break up and remove the old concrete for him.

Marshal

• Monthly stats-See attached
• Marshal Hathaway informed the Council that he had bought side mirror covers for the Impala and they needed to be painted to match the car as they come in the color of black and the car is grey. Council member Dean Hawkins recommended to Marshal Hathaway that he knew a person named Jim Downing who could paint the mirrors. The Council approved the recommendation and Council member Dean Hawkins will give the Marshal Mr. Downing’s phone number.
• The Marshal informed the Council that he applied for a grant that was being given for thermo imagers and the Town of Millersburg has been awarded one of the grants. The amount of the grant is $18,000.00 which includes free training and free travel, lodging and food for the training. The training will take place in Baltimore, Maryland and the Marshal will be gone from July 18th through July 22nd 2004.
• Marshal Hathaway informed the Council that the new squad car is being worked on. The wiring on the camera unit will be done by May 18th, 2004. All other work should be done by May 20th, 2004.

Clerk/Treasurer

• The Clerk/Treasurer called the County Treasurer and asked about paying property taxes.
  The Clerk/Treasurer was informed that residents could pay their property taxes any time based on last years tax bill. Actual bills will be sent out and total tax bill will be due November 10th, 2004.

Unfinished Business

• Maintenance Director Matt King informed the Council that the cost of the speed bumps he had quoted last meeting was incorrect. The speed bumps will cost a total of $1,559.00 for six (6) speed bumps. The town will need three for Larimer and three for Cripe Street. After a short discussion the Council approved the additional cost increase.

New Business

• The Council gave the Clerk/Treasurer permission to use the $3,750.00 left in the CCD fund to finish paying for the leaf-vac. The money was originally budgeted for the Marshal’s new Police vehicle, but all the money was not needed.
• The Clerk/Treasurer received paperwork from the town attorney Doug Hayes that he has filed the Ordinance 2004-3 to Vacate Railroad Street with the Elkhart County Auditor and County Recorder’s office. This action makes the ordinance valid and the property will be put on the County maps as owned by the Town of Millersburg. The town can now processed with tearing the old waterworks building down.
• Council President James Winkler commended the maintenance and utility guys for having the bracket fixed on the broken pump at the wastewater plant. All three (3) pumps are up and running. Superintendent Eldridge said he appreciated Maintenance Director Matt King’s electrical ability as it saved the town a lot of money.
• Council President Winkler informed the town employees that he appreciates that all departments are watching how they are spending their money, but he would like for all departments to continue to micro manage the money in their departments. Due to the tax reassessment the town still is not getting the property tax money on a timely basis. President Winkler also asked that the departments not outsource as little as possible and that they try to do as much as they can in house. President Winkler also asked that the departments report any damaged done by town employees to residents property. The damage is to be recorded and the records kept in the Clerk/Treasurers office. Marshal Hathaway volunteered to make up a report for reporting damages.
• Deputy Clerk Branden Beachy informed the Council that he had a quote to upgrade the computer system in the Clerk’s office. The State Auditor informed the Clerk/Treasurer that the town needed a better backup system and tighter security and written procedures for the backup. At this time our computer can only backup weekly on a disk explained Deputy Beachy. The upgrade will cost approximately $4,686.75. Deputy Beachy suggested that the money be divided into four funds. $1,000.00 from water, $1,000.00 from sewer, $1,700.00 from the Rainy Day Fund and $986.75 from the Riverboat Fund. The Council approved the cost of the upgrade.
• The Clerk/Treasurer informed the Council that Downey Insurance will be in town on May 20th, 2004 to do a safety inspection at the maintenance building and follow up on the water and wastewater buildings. A memo was given to each employee about the visit.

James Winkler made the motion to pay bills. The motion was seconded by Dean Hawkins and was carried by a voice vote     

Adjourn: Time:    8:35 p.m.                James Winkler made the motion Abe Beachy seconded and motion carried by a unanimous voice vote.