Ferdinand Town Council: A monster of a deal – curbside recycling collection comes to Ferdinand

If all goes as planned, Ferdinand will have the premiere curb side recycling service in Dubois County by Christmas.

The Ferdinand Town Council entered into an agreement with Monster Recycling of Jasper during the council’s meeting Tuesday night. The town will purchase 920 recycling bins (118 over the number of households served). Monster will deliver the bins, along with a list of all acceptable items to Ferdinand households in three to four week.

They will accept all colored glass (Jasper only takes clear), the recyclables do not have to be sorted, magazines can be included at any time, all plastics are acceptable — the only codicil, the recyclables must be clean.

Monster will pick up the curb side bins (placed not more than 12 hours prior and not left more than 12 hours after) on Mondays.

There is no cost for the service. The bins will remain town property so if a resident moves away he must turn in the bin or pay $15 for it.

Made of a durable, high density polymer, the bins will last a long time. Monster will also pick up large appliances (no need for freon removal, the company has a licensed tech for that) at no charge. They will also take tires.

All the specifics will be outlined in a brochure to be distributed with the bins.

If business owners are interested, they can secure a 4 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 5 ft. tall bin for a $150 deposit. There is no cost for disposal. Call hPaul Voergerl Jr. at 812-827-9560 to sign up.

The senior citizen complex and apartments will have a special location for disposal rather than individual bins.

In addition to signing a two-year contract with Monster recycling, the council adopted Ordinance 2013-14 outlining terms of bin ownership.

However, while researching the project, it came to light the town is losing money on trash disposal by charging only $1 per sticker. They adopted Ordinance 2013-15, raising the price to $1.50 which has been the price at Jasper for some years.

Still, with curb side recycling the cost per household could remain stagnant or even decrease.

Park Amphitheater

About 10 residents were in attendance for an update on the proposed park amphitheater.

At the September meeting, some of these same individuals said they did not object to a stage as long as it was not put in the northwest corner of 18th Street Park.

Scott Tretter reported the committee had met twice and, preliminarily believed the structure would cost around $200,000 to built and the site work would vary from around $2,800 to $140,000 depending on the location

After hearing the report from Tretter on four sites under consideration, attendees said neighborhood residents are against a stage or structure at any site in the park. “We’re the ones suffering so everyone else can do this,” complained Pat Haake.

Park Board President Scott Tretter was under the impression that as long as it could be accessed through the park and not the side streets (and wouldn’t be built at the most cost effective site on the northwest side of the park) there wouldn’t be a problem.

Not so.

Tina Roos said her number one preference is that it not be built at all. Other ideas were floated such as purchasing a portable stage or leaving things as they are.

The discussion was lengthy and no consensus reached. Stay tuned.

The council also:

• Approved purchase of a demonstration model Altec Freightliner truck for $170,200.

• Will stick with an AllSavers employee insurance plan with a higher deductible since cost of the existing plan was set to raise 22%.

• Adopted Ordinance 2013-16 allowing Clerk-Treasurer Bev Schulthise to pay certain claims prior to meetings (such as credit card bills with a high overage fine).

• Will put pedestrian crossing signs on West 3rd Street per MasterBrand’s request for the safety of their employees.

• Heard a progress update on the Wollenmann House project from Nathan Held, senior grant administrator with the Indiana 15 Regional Planning Commission. At this time all paperwork is in order and work is progressing.

• Will move Police Officer Chris Miller from part-time to full time status. Chief Ricky Patton said that due to the longevity of most in his department, four months is needed for vacation time and the officers now work 84 hours in a two week period. By moving Miller up the hours can be decreased to 80 and overtime won’t be an issue when an officer takes a vacation. He will be paid $17.50 per hour. Patton received 11 reserve applications and will test the potential recruits December 5, first with a physical agility test at the high school followed by a written test at the office. However, none of these would be ready to handle a shift alone for at least six months.

• Will sell the department’s 2005 Crown Vic by sealed bids (see legal notice, this issue). Bids will be accepted until close of business on December 10 and opened at 8 p.m. during the next regular council meeting.

• Approved a measure requested by all members of the Police Department, to let them purchase their own phones and use them 24/7 for the department, instead of carrying two phones. Each will receive a $35 per month stipend, the current cost to the town.

• Heard from Fire Chief Dan Lindauer that he is interviewing three potential new firefighters and will bring a recommendation as to hires next month. He reminds residents to check their fireplaces, wood stoves and chimneys to make sure they are in operable condition as winter sets in.

• Adopted a proclamation for the Marching Rangers successful repeat as State Champs in Class D.

• Learned Dean Gogel will have completed his first year apprenticeship December 31 with the electric department and agreed to move lineman Mike Langeman from part-time to full time status, increasing his hours by 11 per week and adding benefits.

• Heard hydrants will be flushed starting December 2.

• Set the Town Christmas Tree Lighting for Friday, December 6, the next meeting for December 10 and announced a Plan Commission meeting November 20.