North Judson Town Council Scheduled to Hold Special Session Prior to Regular Meeting

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Before their regular meeting tonight, the North Judson Town Council members will meet in a special session to discuss the town’s 2018 salary ordinance.

Another topic up for discussion during the special session will be the approval of a bond counsel engagement letter. The special session will start at 6 p.m. tonight.

There is a light agenda for the regular session which is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Time will be allotted for public presentations, department head reports and council items. Continue reading →

North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Alerts Town Council Members of $6,000 Insurance Policy Premium Increase

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

When the North Judson Town Council met Tuesday evening, Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe alerted town council members that the town’s insurance policy premium increased from $56,000 in 2017 to about $62,000 for this year.

Rowe said he has recently been working with Christin Romine, an insurance accountant executive with 1st Source Bank in order to familiarize himself with the town’s history and current policy. He explained that after talking with her, he found that a large factor for the increase is the amount of claims that the town filed over the last few years.

Council President Wendy Hoppe recalled that in 2015, within the span of a few months they lost three police vehicles, including a Dodge Charger and two Ford Crown Victoria patrol cars. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Marshal Proposes Changing Unused Board Room into Training Site

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan
(photo provided by Peggy Bohac)
North Judson Police Department Full-Time Force

North Judson Town Marshal Kelly Fisher came before town council members on Tuesday, seeking permission to turn the police station’s board room into a training site.

Marshal Fisher explained that she hasn’t seen the room utilized for meetings in quite some time. She mentioned that many officers have various instructor qualifications so that unused space is holding some untapped potential.

Fisher said, “We could open it up to host classes and bring some money in for the police department, kind of broaden our training.” Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Members Make Additional Appointments and Agree to Advertise for Open Positions

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Town Council members voted unanimously to retain Wendy Hoppe as the town council president when they met Tuesday night.

As a part of their new bylaws, members also needed to establish a vice president. Councilman John Rowe was nominated and council members collectively agreed to appoint him to the position. Members also voted to retain Justin Schramm as their town attorney.

Additionally, members discussed remaining appointments. Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe will serve as the town representative for Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission and Wendy Hoppe volunteered to serve on the Rail Road Committee. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Members Meet Tonight

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The North Judson Town Council members will make an appointment to the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission and discuss the Starke County Economic Development Foundation appointment when they meet tonight.

Department heads will deliver updates to the council members and there will be some time allotted for public presentations and recognition of guests.

The meeting will take place in North Judson Town Hall at 6:30 p.m. tonight.

North Judson Town Council Approves Encumbrance for Norwayne Field Wall Repairs

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Town Council members encumbered funds for repairs to the wall at Norwayne Field when they met Tuesday night. Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe explained that the wall that runs along Highway 10 is missing stones in some spots and there are places where it is crumbling.

A total of $4,400 that was left over from building improvements was encumbered to pay Schamber Masonry for work on the Norwayne Field wall. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Members Choose Not to Encumber Funds for Utility Tractor

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Town Council members refrained from encumbering funds for a new tractor for the utility department when they met Tuesday night. Council members conferred that they were under the impression they were waiting until springtime to take any action on that purchase.

Councilman Josh Brown stated he’d like to know what the intended purpose for the tractor would be before they establish a specific amount intended for the purchase. Brown said he wasn’t aware of any reasons the tractor would be a necessary piece of equipment. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Members Address Appointments at Year-End Meeting

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Town Council members appointed Councilman James Young as the council representative of the Starke County Economic Development Board, at their meeting Tuesday night.

Town Council president Wendy Hoppe also asked if any members were willing to volunteer as the representative for KIRPC or the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission. Councilwoman Jane Ellen Felchuck added that they could nominate a citizen, if no members are interested in filling the position. Since Councilman John Rowe wasn’t present during last night’s meeting, they decided to table that appointment until their meeting on January 2nd. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council to Hold Final Meeting of the Year Tonight

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Town council members will convene tonight at 6 p.m. to tie up any loose ends during an end-of-year session. Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe will fill council members in on the town’s current financial standings and alert them of any actions that must be taken before the year’s end.

One topic up for discussion will be board appointment suggestions. Though the representatives won’t be officially decided until after the first of the year, Council President Wendy Hoppe said they will be considered during this session. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Attorney Presents Council Members with Railroad Bylaws

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Railroad Committee bylaws were up for discussion during Monday night’s North Judson Town Council meeting. Town Attorney Justin Schramm informed members that he received the bylaws from Rachel Arndt, the town’s former attorney.

He told the council that part of the bylaws indicates that the committee would be comprised of at least four members. It would consist of one town council member, a representative from Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum and representatives from Chesapeake and Indian Railroad and Co-Alliance. He mentioned that any freight carrier who hauls more than 20 percent of product on the railway would be able to appoint a member as well. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Superintendent Addresses New State Board of Accounts Requirement

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Town Superintendent Marshall Horstmann touched on a few different topics during his report at the North Judson Town Council meeting Monday Night.

He alerted council members that leaf and brush pick-up has officially concluded for this year and will resume in the spring.

Additionally, in Superintendent Horstmann’s report, members were told that the State Board of Accounts is requiring that the town take measures to better secure the modem tower located in Town Hall. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Permits Fire Chief to Utilize Call Fees for Equipment Purchase

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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 →

Progress Made in North Judson PD K-9 Fundraiser, Additional Donations Still Needed

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The North Judson Police Department is already nearing their $20,000 goal for the purchase of a K-9 and subsequent training thanks to a decision made by town council members Monday evening.

Town Marshal Kelly Fisher requested for $15,000 to be encumbered from the general police insurance fund into the K-9 fund to help cover the cost of purchasing a K-9 from the Peru-based company Vohne Liche Kennels. The council members unanimously approved Fisher’s request.

Fisher also acknowledged some local businesses and organizations that are already offering assistance to the NJPD. San Pierre Veterinary Clinic offered to donate annual shots and physicals and Feed Barn is donating all food needed for the K-9. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Meets Tonight at 6:30 p.m.

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Town Council members will hold a discussion over railroad committee bylaws when they meet tonight.

Additionally, members will appoint a member to the Public Library Board and consider a resolution to transfer funds.

Department heads will also provide reports to the council members. Town Marshal Kelly Fisher will deliver an update about the fundraisers that have been put in place since she presented a proposal about bringing on a dual-purpose K9 to the North Judson Police Department at the last town council meeting Continue reading →

North Judson Code Enforcement Officer Provides Update to Town Council, Suggests Removing Outdated Ordinances

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Code Enforcement Officer Joe Leszek provided an update about the code enforcement program that was implemented in mid-July.

Leszek said that they’ve seen good results and they continue to make improvements. He alerted council members that Town Marshal Kelly Fisher is currently working on a procedure to “put a little more teeth” into the abandoned vehicle policy.

He also mentioned that for the first few months, they were being more lenient by giving warnings and allowing people a few weeks to deal with citations. However, he said now that they’re more than six months into the code enforcement program, they’ll cut that down to 48 hour warnings and then ticketing if the issue is not handled.

North Judson’s town photographer Peggy Bohac presented a concern that she received from a fixed-income resident who was worried that stricter code enforcement could result in fines that would potentially be unmanageable.

Marshal Fisher responded, saying as long as citizens are making a noticeable effort to correct the violation, then they will not be continuously fined. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Members Receive Update About Addition to Norwayne Field

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The ball is rolling on a new addition to Norwayne Field, according to North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe.

Prior to her resignations, former Clerk-Treasurer Alicia Collins alerted town council members that the $12,000 raised by the community center committee would go toward a cover for the stage at Norwayne Field.

During the clerk-treasurer’s report at Monday’s town council meeting, Rowe explained that he received the preliminary plans for the stage cover and now the North Judson Park Board will be working with them to finalize decisions. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Members Approve Purchase of New Camera for Utility Department

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Town Council members approved the purchase of a new push camera at the request of Town Superintendent Marshall Horstmann during Monday evening’s town council meeting.

Horstmann explained that a push camera is an inspection tool that can be utilized for their fee ordinance where water and sewer lines are inspected at the request of homeowners for a $100 fee. He added that it could also be used for checking the town’s lines in general.

He said the current camera is more than 10 years old and they’ve had consistent problems with it not turning on. He added that there were also issues with the way that material was recorded and stored on to discs. Continue reading →

North Judson Fire Chief Shares Ways The Department is Raising Funds for the Town

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Fire Chief Joe Leszek presented council members with a few different ways the fire department is helping bring money into the town at Monday’s town council meeting.

Leszek shared that the fire fighters host a number of fundraisers which prove successful and added that the volunteers also go out of their way to apply for grants. They recently received $8,000 worth of grant funding

“We got a $3,000 dollar Starke County Community Foundation Grant, no match, it’s $3,000 of free money for us. We also got a $2,500 REMC Grant and then we also got a $2,500 Monsanto Grant.”

Leszek explained that the grant funds will be put toward the purchase of brush fire gear for all members and will also be spent to upgrade some leaky tanks on a couple of trucks. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Approves Town Employee Health Insurance Policy

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Town Council members reached a decision about town employee health insurance during last night’s town council meeting.

The town’s insurance broker John Howard with Wealth Care Group informed the council that the request submitted to National General was denied. The remaining options came from their current provider United Health Care.

He presented them with a few different plans explaining that one option only allowed for coverage by a specified network of health care providers. He said that while a majority of local physicians would fall into this category, but if an employee needed to seek medical attention by a specialist or someone outside of the community, it would not be covered under the insurance.

The other option, what he called AU63, allowed for coverage outside the network for an additional fee. He also said that option is the closest to what they currently have. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Meets Tonight

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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 →