Remington Town Council Meeting

Date:   April 5, 2010

Time:  6:30 p.m.

Place:  Remington Town Hall, 24 South Indiana St.

 Council Members Present:   Charlie Illingworth, Susan Sigo, Patricia Berger, James Stewart

Other Present:  John Flinn, Mark Jones, Bruce Messersmith, John Schuetzenhofer, Ryan Byrd, Barb Lawson, Robin and Bev Buschman, Tony Myers, Judy Myers, Vera Kurtz, Jim Stringfellow, Russ Bahler, Mabel Buschman, Cole Buschman, Judy Barbour, Alene Doughtey, Ki Ziolkowski, Brad Idlewine

The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance followed by approval of the February and March minutes on a motion by Pat Berger, seconded by Charlie Illingworth.  Motion carried.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

 Jim Stringfellow was present to let the Council know that the United Methodist men were again going to do a community clean-up project and wanted to know if there was any particular area they could work on.  He thought maybe they could work on the area along the railroad but was told they would need to get verbal permission from the railroad to do this.  Charlie Illingworth volunteered to call the railroad to see if this was possible.

TOWN ATTORNEY

John Casey stated he had reviewed the lease purchase agreement for the wood chipper and leaf vac and saw now problems with signing the documents.  He did say he would like to review the warranties on both pieces of equipment first.  John Flinn will get these for Casey.

John Ward reported the web site statistics to the council and stated that he had also created a Facebook fan page for the Town as well as setting up a Town Manager's blog. He will be able to write articles of what is happening with town matters.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

Police:  John Schuetzenhofer gave the police report for the month of March.  A copy of this report is on file in the Clerk-Treasurer's office.

Cole Buschman was then appointed as the town's new Deputy Marshal on a motion by Jim Stewart, seconded by Charlie Illingworth.  Motion carried.

Cole was then sworn in as Deputy Marshal by Clerk-Treasurer, Kay Brown.

Marshal Schuetzenhofer asked permission to purchase the new radios for both cars at a cost of $7,000.  Charlie Illingworth moved to allow the purchase, seconded by Pat Berger.  Motion carried.

Marshal Schuetzenhofer asked permission to get rid of all the old equipment in the evidence room once he verified that it was not needed for any court cases.  The council gave him permission to do this.

At this time Jon Borgers gave the council an update on the new wastewater grant that the town will apply for.  He presented the council with copies of recommended plan improvements for their review.  Borgers stated this is a disaster recovery grant and is due by July 2^nd.   The grant will be written for two projects.one for the wastewater treatment plant and the other for the collection system.  Jim Stewart asked about the sludge handling.  Could a belt press be used?  Jon Borgers stated it would be hard to justify the cost of this.  Stewart then asked about a million-gallon surge tank, which might help keep the cost down.  Borgers stated this might be costly also.  The grant is a maximum of one million dollars and does not require a match from the town but the town may have a better chance of receiving the grant if it agreed to do a local match.  Engineering fees can be used for part of the match if they town wanted to do this.  An amendment to the original engineering agreement would need to be done.

Borgers stated that by the May council meeting, the council would need to decide to move forward with the project or not.  Any money spent on the town's project from that point forward could be part of the town's match.

Wastewater:  Bruce Messersmith reported that he had received six responses from the letter he had sent out about disconnection sump pumps from the town's sanitary sewer system. 

He has heard nothing to date from H-Four in regards to the flow meter that was requested of them to be installed.

Messersmith stated he would really like to get a push camera to look at the sewer lines.  E. J. Prescott is coming to do a demo.  The cost of this camera is $10,000.  John Ward stated he would like to support Bruce on this, as this can be a long-term benefit for the town.   There is a lot of water infiltration out East by I-65.  There is more being pumped than billed.  It is costing $1.05 per 100 cubic feet for electricity and is progressively getting worse.  John Ward recommended that those interstate businesses have a flow meter installed to monitor their sewage.  A 2" meter would cost $1400 not including the cost of labor to install.  A 4" would cost between $2600 and $2800.  Charlie Illingworth stated that the lines need to be televised to see if there is a problem first before requiring them to install the meters.  Jim Stewart suggested that John Ward and Bruce Messersmith talk about this and decide what to do and then make a recommendation to the council.

WATER:  Mark Jones reported that all the wells are in good shape.  Mike Coty will be installing the doors on the old fire station next Tuesday.

STREETS:  John Flinn reported the wood chipper would be here this week or next.  The Leaf Vac is still being made. 

Flinn reported that the Catholic Church approached him about repairing the street where the water main was installed last year.  The council stated that he could do this.

Streetlights are going to be put up in the new subdivision.  This will be an expense for the town as it is in the corporation limits.

Flinn asked permission from the council to turn in his uniform shirts and purchase reflective t-shirts as it is now a safety requirement when doing any type of roadwork, etc.

Jim Stewart asked if Flinn could do something about the hole at the edge of the road when entering Casey's.  Flinn will take care of this.

Pat Berger expressed concern about John Flinn being at the dump by himself when using the wood chipper.  It would be a good idea if two people were present at all times.

Flinn stated that last year when the Methodist Church men did their clean-up day he had taken the dump truck to wherever they were working so they could load it.  He asked permission to do this again this year.  Permission was granted.

Fire Department:  Brad Idlewine gave the fire department report for the month of March.  A copy of this report is on file in the Clerk-Treasurer's office. 

OLD BUSINESS

Susie Sigo stated she had a letter from a citizen about a storm drain not functioning properly.  The street has been raised so much that the water runs into the resident's yard and they asked that something be done about it.  John Flinn will check into this.

CLERK-TREASUER

Kay Brown presented an amendment to the 2010 salary ordinance changing the amount of the deputy marshal pay.  Pat Berger moved to approve the amendment.  Jim Stewart seconded the motion.  Motion carried.

Brown presented the contract required for a new police officer (Cole Buschman) stating that the officer will work for the town for at least a 3-year period.  Pat Berger moved to accept the contract, seconded by Jim Stewart.  Motion carried.

Claims were reviewed and approved for payment on a motion by Jim Stewart, seconded by Pat Berger.  Motion carried.

ADDITIONAL BUSINESS

Marshal Schuetzenhofer asked permission to replace the decals on the police squads stating the cost would be approximately $500 for both cars.  Charlie Illingworth moved to allow the decals to be replaced.  Pat Berger seconded the motion.  Motion carried.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.