North Judson Town Council members will open bids for the cemetery mowing contract when they meet tonight at 6:30 p.m.
Members are also expected to consider an amended owner-engineer contract with Common Wealth Engineers. Continue reading
Starke County Economic Development Foundation to Hold Community Retreat
The Starke County Economic Development Foundation will be holding a community retreat at their office in Knox on Tuesday, March 20th from 7:30 a.m. until noon CT.
Interim Executive Director Larry Wickert spoke to the North Judson Town Council members about the session during their meeting Monday night. He cleared up some confusion about the focus, stating that the event will be open to all municipalities in the area and will not solely be about development in North Judson. Continue reading
NJ Town Council Members to Discuss Cemetery Mowing Ad and Amended Salary Ordinance Tonight
North Judson Town Council members will discuss the cemetery mowing advertisement when they meeting tonight.
Members will also hold the second reading over an amended salary ordinance. At the final meeting in February, members held the first reading over a salary ordinance that would not include a 3 percent raise for the town council members.
At the beginning of the year, members signed off on a salary ordinance that essentially gave a 3 percent raise across the board. However, Town Attorney Justin Schramm explained that since the salary ordinance was approved in January of 2018, the members couldn’t approve a raise for themselves since it wouldn’t look good to the State Board of Accounts to approve a raise in the same year it is given. Continue reading
House Bill That Would Affect Bidding Process Faces Opposition from NJ Town Council
A proposed House Bill was brought to the attention of North Judson Town Council members during a special meeting Monday night.
Council President Wendy Hoppe informed council members that House Bill 1313 is currently being considered by the House of Representatives. She explained that if enacted, it would affect the bidding process.
Hoppe said, “What the state is trying to say is the bidder can bid it and we have no way that we can check their background; who they are, what they are, what their work is. Where now we do have that [capability] and that in a nutshell is what that bill is about.” Continue reading
North Judson Town Council Permits Fire Chief to Utilize Call Fees for Equipment Purchase
During Monday night’s North Judson Town Council meeting, Fire Chief Joe Leszek told members that the first installment of Rich Grove Township’s call-fees has been submitted.
At the last town council meeting he explained that Rich Grove Township is on a pay-by-call basis where the Township pays $660 per call.
That agreement didn’t present much of an issue when they only had 5 calls in 2016 but this year they had a total of 46 calls, resulting in a charge of $30,360. Leszek said a check for $18,000 was recently sent from Township Trustee Deloris Locke. Locke told him that the remaining $12,360 will be paid after the first of the year. Continue reading
North Judson Town Council Meets Tonight
At tonight’s North Judson Town Council meeting Nancy Capouch will provide a public presentation pertaining to a sewer/water issue on John Street. Members will also continue to deliberate about the most cost effective town employee health insurance option.
At the last meeting, the town’s insurance broker John Howard alerted members that their current plan with United Health Care would not allow for the addition of 1099 employees, such as the town attorney and the council members. He said there is a more lenient plan through National General that would accept 1099 employees, but he needed to obtain additional employee information before he could get quotes. Continue reading
Leaf Pick-Up Extension Suggested at North Judson Town Council Meeting
As usual, North Judson Town Superintendent Marshall Horstmann addressed the town council members when they held their first November meeting Monday night.
In his report, he proposed that the last date for leaf and brush pick-up be November 30th. However, Council member John Rowe mentioned that could pose a problem, seeing as many trees haven’t dropped all their leaves quite yet. Continue reading
Particular Purchase Order Raises Questions at North Judson Town Council Meeting
When it came time to approve purchase orders at the North Judson Town Council meeting on Monday, members chose to refrain from paying the second installment charge for consulting services from the Starke County Economic Development Foundation until more details can be gathered.
Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe alerted the council that bill was for $8,273.60. Before the purchase orders could be approved, Council Member Josh Brown asked what the SCEDF is doing specifically to warrant a total of $16,000 owed with the two installments.
Council Member Jane Ellen Felchuck explained that Executive Director Charlie Weaver does send reports and John Rowe said that representatives have attended recent meetings in order present new information. Council President Wendy Hoppe also mentioned that they brought in OTES and that they’re hopefully working to bring in more industry. Continue reading
NJ Animal Ordinance will Receive Final Reading at Next Town Council Meeting
The ordinance to regulate the housing and maintenance of animals within the town of North Judson was further discussed during a Monday evening town council meeting.
Council member Jane Ellen Felchuck moved to suspend the second reading and that motion was passed. Town attorney Justin Schramm explained that since they suspended the second reading, if 4 out of the 5 council members approved, they could pass the ordinance then and there. Continue reading
North Judson Town Council Receives Update About Community Center Committee Funds
The North Judson Town Council held the final reading of their 2018 Budget when they met earlier this week. Following the reading, the council adopted the budget which has an estimated total of $983,546 according to Indiana Gateway.
Additionally, the clerk-treasurer at the time, Alicia Collins informed the council members where the $12,000 of funds raised by the Community Center Committee will go now that the project is no longer being pursued. Continue reading
North Judson Town Superintendent Announces Community Crossings Grant Funds
The Town Superintendent of North Judson, Marshall Horstmann, told council members the amount of money that was received through the INDOT Community Crossings Grant when they met last week.
Horstmann said the Town of North Judson was awarded $125,094.75 to go toward paving for next year. He alerted the council members that a certain rule surrounding the grant funding has changed.
“Now the way they do it is you have to pay for the paving and then you have to turn in a receipt to INDOT. Then they’ll reimburse you.” Horstmann went on, explaining the reason for the switch, “They’ve had issues in the past where towns have gotten the money but then they didn’t do the paving.”
Horstmann told council members he is meeting with INDOT representatives on October 16th to go into more detail about project specifics.
Budget Hearing Scheduled for NJ Town Council Meeting Tonight
The North Judson Town Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing for their proposed 2018 Budget when members meet tonight at 6:30 p.m. According to Indiana Gateway, the budget estimate submitted for the general fund is $728,584, while the total estimated budget amounts to $983,546.
The meeting agenda states that council members will discuss the railroad bank account that was established during a meeting in September. At that meeting, they passed an ordinance designating an account where all funds railroad related would go. That includes money set aside for renovations as well as revenue received from the railroad company. Continue reading
Cumulative Railroad Revenue Fund Established During NJ Town Council Meeting
During the North Judson Town Council meeting last night, board members approved an ordinance establishing a cumulative railroad revenue fund for future payments from the railroad company and to transfer the money from the existing railroad capital improvement fund.
In the settlement agreement between the Town of North Judson and Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad Company (CKIN), it was arranged that the town will receive quarterly payments from the railway operator based on and coinciding with railroad traffic. A fund needed to be established in order to put those payments somewhere under the new agreement. Continue reading
