Ferdinand Town Council: Copy that — radio station could get an upgrade
In what may have been the shortest meeting of the year to date (one hour, 10 minutes) the Ferdinand Town Council breezed through its second to the last agenda of 2014 on Tuesday night.
The brevity may have been helped somewhat by the absence of Council President Ken Sicard, as various agenda items were tabled until a year-end meeting on Wednesday, December 17.
Council Vice President Ron Weyer conducted the session, leaving all the approval motions to Councilwoman Debbie Johnson.
According to Town Manager Chris James, the AM radio station and $3,000 grant received yet another setback. Three weeks ago he brought in a team of radio engineers to evaluate plans for a low wattage station that would serve as an early warning system for catastrophic events, as well as a community bulletin board and announcement center to inform residents when an electric transformer has blown or a water problem occurs.
However, the engineers determined the low watt AM transmitter would not cover the entire community and would basically be unusable in the event of an emergency.
James will continue working with the engineers and plans to apply for a low power FM signal instead. There are two frequencies available in the Ferdinand area, James explained, but just like with grants, there is a filing window for the application and he has not been informed of those dates.
The good news is, the FM station would be heard throughout Ferdinand Township and beyond the town’s borders, making it a more valuable tool for information dissemination.
James said the $3,000 grant can still be used to purchase the equipment, even if it takes some time to transition to an FM frequency. He also suggested music could be played during what would otherwise be dead air time.
Dirty little piles and dirty little secrets
Two issues have proven problematic of late and, according to Street Superintendent Tom Lueken, one of them seems to crop up every year about this time.
Residents are disposing of household trash in receptacles at the parks, most notably 18th Street.
It would be wise for the perpetrators to cease.
According to Lueken the trash is perused until the offenders can be identified. So far they are given a friendly reminder that this is an illegal activity.
Identification of perpetrators guilty of the second violation are a little more difficult to determine. According to a resident who filed a complaint, his or her neighbors are letting their dogs run in 18th Street Park sans a leash and letting them defecate on the walking trails without cleaning up the evidence.
There are strategically placed bags in the park for the purpose of waste disposal. And unleashed dogs violate town ordinances.
Johnson advises those who are bucking the system: “Keep your dogs in your yards and let them use your yard as their wasteland.”
New Ordinance Amendments
Three ordinance amendments were approved Tuesday night. The first, upon the recommendation of the Board of Zoning Appeals, lifts the restriction on the height of detached buildings. The original ordinance put a 14 foot cap on the height back when most houses were ranch style. The amended verbiage allows for heights as tall as (but not taller than) the house roof line. This was in response to the many, many variance requests for taller outbuildings.
The second ordinance amendment (2014-22) clarifies language to conform to state statute.
The third ordinance (2014-23) is required biennially and gives Clerk-Treasurer Bev Schulthise the authority to “shop” for the highest rate of interest with approved depositories.
The council also:
–Approved purchase of a 2015 Jeep Compass for Town Office employees. The Jeep will be purchased from Sternbergs for $21,000 — $25,000 had been budgeted for the vehicle.
–Adopted the two year EDIT Plan.
–Released a performance Bond for the Steczyk family implemented for street repairs to conform to county ordinances. The county approved the release as the street — within Ferdinand’s jurisdictional limits but outside town — is under county control.
–Learned from Schulthise the 2015 budget has been approved by the state, although the Cum Cap fund was shorted by $10,000.
–Sold the Town’s 1991 Teco bucket truck to high bidder Charles Richardson for $8,500. Ten bids were received.
–Heard a progress report from Dubois Strong President Ed Cole, six weeks into the job. He hopes to hire a consulting firm this week (the choices had been narrowed to three) to work on a county-wide housing study. He also plans to have a study done concerning a county-wide jobs website where all openings can be aggregated and is working on a truck driving school of sorts, due to the national shortage of qualified drivers. For this purpose he needs donated equipment, a location for the training and a qualified instructor. Cole concluded, “I like Ferdinand a lot. I think you guys just overachieve here every day.”
–Paid the final special claim to Strand and Associates for $104.75 for the park trails project.
–Heard from Chris James the West Clarifier project planned for 2014 got caught in a time crunch and no bids were received, because by the time they went out contractors were booked up. He proposes a January or February bid opening with specifications to complete the work in July or August, thus getting a jump. Project approval and time schedule will be determined at the special December 17 meeting.
–Received an engineer’s estimate for water main replacement on the west side of Main Street from Utility Superintendent Henry Haake.
Department reports
–There is good news for those unable to get their leaves curb side due to inclement weather. Property and Street Superintendent Tom Lueken said curb side leaf pickup will continue until Friday, December 19. He has also received half the road salt ordered for the winter season.
–Learned from Haake that parts have been ordered to repair a pulley on the south side flag; tree trimming is progressing nicely; he replaced 17-year old tires on the 620 New Holland tractor and Dean Gogel completed his second year electric lineman apprenticeship.
–Heard from Police Chief Ricky Patton that Adam Fleck is the first officer in the reserve program to receive clearance to patrol solo and also that the town’s newest officer is faring well at the Police Academy.
–Learned the Fire Department answered nine calls in November, four for fire and five First Responder runs from Chief Dan Lindauer, who was elected last week to another three-year term as chief. Council members also gave their approval. Chief Lindauer and Asst. Chief Reckelhoff will attend a table top training session in Jasper on Wednesday; and Lindauer will interview four possible fire fighter candidates next Tuesday, three of whom are currently junior firefighters. If all four are approved it would bring the force up to 32, just one shy of the allowed number.
–Heard Wastewater Superintendent Roger Schaefer and his staff are working on collection system maintenance as well as year-end plant maintenance. He asked for and received permission to attend the 2015 Wastewater and Water Equipment Treatment Show in Indianapolis, allow with two staff members. They will attend only one day of the three day show between February 23 and 26. The total program fee for all three is $180, plus transportation and meals.
–Heard from James the 2014 Chamber dinner on December 3 was a rousing success with over 200 in attendance and that, while the weather didn’t cooperate for the tree lighting, the Town Christmas tree is shining brightly on Main Street. He praised all town employees involved in putting it up.
–Also from James, that an IPEP session had been held with a representative from that organization earlier in the day to discuss a chain to report workman’s comp incidents that could help with an assessment and improvements. The IPEP rep will be back in a couple of weeks with samples of gloves, coveralls and other safety items for town employees.
The council will meet again in special session on Wednesday, December 17 at 7 p.m. A Board of Zoning Appeals meeting will be held prior at 6:30 p.m.
