Cloverdale Town Council – Regular Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, April 13, 2021

The Cloverdale Town Council met in Regular Session at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 in the Town Hall; 154 S. Main Street; Cloverdale, IN 46120.

CALL TO ORDER: President Rick Dearwester called the meeting to order at 7 pm.

PLEDGE TO THE FLAG: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

ROLL CALL: Present on Roll Call were Councilmembers Larry Fidler, Gary Bennington, Cindy Holland, and Rick Dearwester. Also present were Town Marshal Steve Hibler, Town Manager Jason Hartman, Town Attorney Richard Shagley and Clerk Treasurer Kelly Maners.  Councilmember Greg Jay was absent.

ADDITION OR DELETION TO AGENDA:  It was requested that Fire Contract and Public Safety Fund be removed from the agenda.  Councilmember Fidler motioned to approve the agenda with the changes. Councilmember Bennington seconded.  The motion carried by unanimous vote.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

  1. Regular Meeting Minutes March 9, 2021

Councilmember Holland motioned to approve. Councilmember Fidler seconded. 

CLAIMS AND TRANSFERS:

            General: $183,648.84      Motion: Councilmember Holland          2nd: Councilmember Fidler

            Water: $55,337.53        Motion: Councilmember Bennington    2nd: Councilmember Fidler

            Wastewater: $77,243.75 Motion: Councilmember Holland         2nd: Councilmember Fidler

            Payroll: $49,777.28       Motion: Councilmember Bennington    2nd: Councilmember Holland

All motions were carried by unanimous vote.

TOWN MARSHAL:  Marshal Hibler gave a monthly report on the activities of the Police Department.  He also notified the Council of his intent to keep compliant with the Garcia law regarding our K-9 handler.  The officer’s shift will be shortened by 1 hour each day to allow him to care for the dog.  He will still be paid for the full shift, including the hour of care for the dog. It was noted the K-9 had already proved useful, leading to several drug arrests, including one on his very first deployment.

FIRE CHIEF:  Fire Chief Kerry Shephard reported that the Cloverdale Township Volunteer Fire Department made 61 total runs last month, 24 of which were in town.  He also noted the Fire Dept is having its annual Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser on April 24th from 6 am-noon at the American Legion.

TOWN MANAGER: 

  1. OLD RADIO TOWER:  We have an old radio tower and several 2-way radios that are no longer of use.  The County has expressed interest in these items.  Discussion ensued.  Town Manager Hartman will check to make sure the tower will not be needed in the future for water meter reading. 
  2. EQUIPMENT REPAIR (BACKHOE AND SKID STEER):  Various repairs were submitted to fix some of the town’s equipment.  Quotes were submitted for $6,609.00 to repair a skid steer and for parts worth approx. $1,824.00 to repair a backhoe.  It was recommended we repair the backhoe in-house. Discussion ensued.  Council directed Town Manager Hartman to get a second quote on the skid steer repairs.  A motion was made to accept the cheaper of the two estimates for the skid steer and purchase the backhoe parts by Councilmember Bennington.  It was seconded by Councilmember Fidler.  The motion carried by unanimous vote.
  3. TOWN MANAGER VEHICLE:  A list was presented to Council with appraised values for some town vehicles.  Discussion ensued.  It was decided, for the immediate future, Town Manager Hartman would have the 2012 Ford F-250 to use as a take home vehicle.  The 2004 Ford F-350 would be used to haul lawn mowing equipment.  The 2008 Ford F-350 would be kept for town use.  The 2004 Ford F-250 with engine problems, the dump truck and tractor on the list will be sold or traded in.
  4. ZONING INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT:  It was noted we are moving forward with this.  The County has been presented with a draft from Attorney Shagley and they are working on details.  This was tabled until next month.
  5. INFLOW/INFILTRATION:  Town Manager Hartman updated Council that he is working on solutions and would have more information in the future.
  6. BLUESIDE WAY PROJECT:  Three Quotes were received back from the bid process.  Putnam Earthworks, LLC bid $139,200.00, Graves Construction Services, Inc. bid $155,155.00 and Plant Brothers Excavating & Construction Co., LLC bid $91,045.00.  Curry and Associates, the Engineering firm we are working with on this project, recommended we go with the cheapest bid from Plant Brothers.  It was noted that this was about $8,000-$9,000 above the original engineers estimate.  Councilmember Fidler made a motion to “Go with the $91,000 bid from Plant Brothers.” It was seconded by Councilmember Bennington.  The motion carried by unanimous vote.
  7. OLD WATER TOWER SITE:  The Town owns a 50 ft2 piece of property at 351 N. Main Street.  It was the site of the old water tower but is no longer in use.  The property owner adjacent to this property has expressed interest in obtaining this.  It was requested the Town declare this surplus land and sell it.  Attorney Shagley recommended a better option might be to let the Redevelopment Commission handle this.  He will have an Ordinance ready for the next meeting.
  8. FLOOD PLAIN ADMINISTRATOR:  Town Manager Hartman was notified by the State that the Town is supposed to have a Flood Plain Administrator and some reports are due. He is gathering more information and will bring it to the next meeting.
  9. OPPORTUNITY ZONE:  The Town of Cloverdale and some of the surrounding area in Putnam County was recently declared an Opportunity Zone by the State of Indiana.  The Town is invited to send representatives to a committee to help develop a prospectus outlining tax benefits and incentives to bring new business to Cloverdale.  We can send 10-12 people to be on the committee. 

CLERK TREASURER:

  1. REVENUE REPORTS:  Revenue Reports were presented to Council.
    1. OLD OUTSTANDING WARRANTS:  A list of old outstanding warrants was presented to Council.  These went uncashed for over 2 years and were now added back into our account.
    1. ARPA ORDINANCE:  The Federal government just recently passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.  This is a stimulus bill.  Cloverdale is set to receive a total of $450,000.00 in two disbursements over the next 2 years.   Ordinance 2021-1 was introduced to set up a Fund to receive this money.  Councilmember Fidler made a motion to pass Ordinance 2021-1.  It was seconded by Councilmember Bennington.  The motion carried by unanimous vote.

PLANNING/BZA:  There were no BZA or Planning meetings this month.

PARK BOARD:  As of the time of this meeting no bids were received for the roof replacement.  They will look outside of town for more contractors. 

The water is still off at the park due to some scheduling issues.  Town Manager Hartman will work with John Berry to get the water turned back on. 

Long term plans are being worked on for the future of the park.

OLD BUSINESS:  Town Manager Jason Hartman notified the Council that Scott Mayhew will start sidewalk repairs tomorrow.  This will fix the ADA Compliance issues from last year.

ADJOURNMENT:  The meeting was adjourned by Council President Dearwester at 8:16 pm.

Rick Dearwester, Town Council President

Kelly Maners, Clerk Treasurer