In light of this year’s worsening drought, the town of Culver is looking into the possibility of drilling an extra well for the town’s water supply.
According to Town Manager David Schoeff, the town board had discussed the idea a while ago and had a study done regarding the project, but nothing had come of it. Since then, some comments had been made at the last board meeting that some residents thought the board should look into the idea once again because of the dry weather.
The Culver Town Council has announced that it will meet for a budget work session today at 3 p.m. to discuss several budgets.
According to Town Manager David Schoeff, the council has been busy with a number of projects, and reviewing the budgets is one such project. While they’ve had their hands full with their budget reviews, Schoeff says the town is also still working on updating their comprehensive plan. He says the council is hoping to submit a request for proposals for the plan soon. The current plan is nearly 20 years old, and Schoeff says it’s time to reevaluate Culver, and plan ahead for the next 20 years.
The council will meet to discuss the Local Roads and Streets, Cumulative Capital Development, and Tree Commission budgets, as well as the Park and Clerk Budget. The meeting will take place at the Culver Town Hall, located at 200 E. Washington St. in Culver.
A number of work sessions will be conducted by the Culver Town Council next week.
On Monday, Aug. 6, the council will meet to review budgets for the police department, clerk’s department, and motor vehicle highway. This meeting will take place at 3:30 p.m. in the Culver Town Hall. The council will also meet on Aug. 7 at 3:30 p.m. to review budgets for the fire department, EMS, and park department.
Recently-hired Culver Town Manager David Schoeff already has his work cut out for him, as the Town of Culver has a number of projects currently underway. Schoeff says one very important thing they are working on is a comprehensive plan project, which he says highlights some of the best aspects of the town.
“We want to redo the comprehensive plan, which obviously is a guidance document on how the community sees the town growing and prospering and so on,” Schoeff explained. “So that’s one thing, and with a town like Culver, this community has a lot of various assets that we need to identify. From an outsider looking in, it’s easy for me to see them, but for someone that may reside here for a long period of time, it kind of gets lost in the shuffle.”
Culver EMS Director Chuck Dilts told the town board this week that his department has been working through various means to get more volunteers, and their efforts have paid off. He says they’ve had several inquiries as a result of their increased effort, and an EMT course began Monday with a dozen students.
Culver EMS has sponsored several of the students, but Dilts requested permission to spend $4000 to sponsor the eight remaining EMTs enrolled in the class. He says that, in return, the students would sign a one-year agreement to serve as a volunteer. Funds for the sponsorship would come from his budget.
After newly-hired Culver Town Manager David Schoeff introduced himself to the community this week at the meeting of the town council, and thanked the community for its warm welcome, he got right to business.
Schoeff told the council that he had a meeting scheduled with the local OCRA representative, Gerry White, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday this week to discuss any outstanding projects, and to get an idea of what areas can be improved by future projects. Utilities Superintendent Bob Porter and Clerk-Treasurer Karen also attended this meeting.
Construction has started in the town of Culver for the Safe Routes to School project, with new sidewalks being installed down School, Ohio, and Main streets. Clerk-Treasurer Karen Heim says the construction, which started last week, is a great thing for the town.
The town was awarded the grant last year through the Indiana Department of Transportation, and Heim says they’ve applied for the grant’s second round. If the town receives the second grant, sidewalks would likely be installed down Academy Road, College Road, and Lakeshore Drive.
The town of Culver has a new town manager. David Schoeff comes to Culver after serving as the director of engineering for the city of Huntington for the past 12 years, and he is also currently finishing his degree in Business Administration.
Schoeff says he already has goals in mind for the town.
“One of my goals is attempting to find ways to help fund projects, and to help Culver grow and prosper,” he said.
The Culver Town Council this week heard a request from resident Tom Kearns for the council to provide funding for a sidewalk to be installed to link Miller’s Merry Manor nursing home to an existing sidewalk at the ball field on the east side of School Street.
A new comprehensive plan for the town of Culver may be in the works to replace their current, 12-year-old plan. According to Kevin Berger, President of Easterday Construction Co., the town is eligible for an OCRA Planning Grant, which can provide the town with up to $50,000 for compiling this comprehensive plan. The grant allows a portion of the funds to go toward grant administration, which allows the town to hire an outside firm to work on it.
After conducting interviews for the full-time EMT position, Culver EMS Director Chuck Dilts recommended hiring Kimberly Irsa to the town council at their recent meeting. Irsa has been with the Culver EMS since November 2010, and was previously an Advanced EMT in Pulaski County.
After serving his town for more than 15 years, Street Superintendent Bob Porter is receiving a promotion. Leaving his post of Street Superintendent, Porter will now be utility manager for the town of Culver.
When a tree falls in Culver and no one wants to pay for it, who covers the cost? That’s a question that was raised at the recent town council meeting, and the answer may surprise you.
According to Town Council President Ginny Munroe, an ordinance is in place that puts the responsibility for the tree on the shoulders of the landowner, meaning that even though the tree is in the right-of-way, the property owner is still responsible for any fees that tree may bring such as costs for trimming and cutting. Trees that have been planted by the town and are in the right-of-way are also prohibited from being removed without a permit.
The Culver Town Council has given Street Superintendent Bob Porter their permission to purchase 50 new water meters to help phase out the remaining old meters, which are susceptible to tampering. The street department has been systematically replacing the old meters over the last five or more years, and their inventory has been reduced to ten new meters remaining.
The search for a town manager is still underway for the town of Culver, now heading into its sixth month without a manager. Several candidates were interviewed for the position after the town council received less than 10 applications in July, but none of them were the perfect match for the position that the council had been looking for. Council President Ginny Munroe stressed the fact that they want to hire a town manager, but they haven’t yet found what they’re looking for.
The Town of Culver will be applying for a grant for a water utility study to locate and resolve issues in their water system. A total of at least eight letters have been received by the town council regarding water issues, and a water utility study would allow the town to identify and fix any problems with the water.
Public areas in Culver may soon be alcohol-free, as the town council approved the ordinance on its first reading this Tuesday. This ordinance has been discussed for over a year, but this is the first draft of such an ordinance.
The ordinance prohibits open containers of alcohol from public property, but restaurants, bars, and other similar places of business remain unaffected.
The town of Culver is planning some improvements to their sewer system, including a new IDEM water treatment plant. The Town Council signed the permit for the construction of the plant on March 29, and they expect to have all the paperwork submitted and the project to be ready for bid within the next two weeks.
