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 →

North Judson Town Council Authorizes List of Additional Appropriations

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Town Council members approved appropriations for several funds when they met last Monday. Town Council President Wendy Hoppe explained that it was determined that more money is now needed than was originally established in the annual budget.

President Hoppe read from the proposed resolution before listing the accounts in need of appropriations, “Be it ordained, resolved by the Town Council, the civil town of Starke County that the expense of the tax units of the following additional sums of money are hereby appropriated out of the funds named and for the purpose of specified subjects to law governing the same.”

President Hoppe went on to list amounts requested to be approved in the specific funds, stating that $3,500 was requested for the unsafe building fund to be used for the cost of demolition and excavation on a blighted Lane Street building. She also said $1,035 was requested for the continuing education fund and $3,938 was requested for the IPP safety grant fund. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Superintendent Talks Tractor Replacement with Council Members

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Town Superintendent of North Judson, Marshall Horstmann, alerted council members that the John Deere tractor that is utilized for utility purposes needs replaced.

During his report at last week’s town council meeting, Horstmann explained that there is a leak in the hydraulic pump on the tractor and the clutch is also going out. He said the tractor is from 1964 and it isn’t worth it to pay to repair the broken parts. Rather than spending money on the old tractor, he attempted to locate a slightly used one that could be purchased to replace it.

One quote for a used tractor was received and the other two quotes were for new models with loaders. Horstmann said he wasn’t initially looking for a tractor with a loader but he said it could come in handy for uses at various times of the year. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Continues Health Insurance Deliberation

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

At last week’s North Judson Town Council meeting, Insurance Broker John Howard with the Wealth Care Group informed council members of a new piece of information he discovered since the last time they discussed health insurance policy options.

During their first November meeting, members voted to allow Town Attorney Justin Schramm to be added to the insurance policy in lieu of paying him a retainer fee. Board member Josh Brown inquired about a similar possibility for council members.

A last Monday’s meeting, Howard explained that the town attorney and council members are classified as 10-99 employees and their current health insurance provider, United Health Care, does not allow those types of employees to be added to the group plan. Continue reading →

North Judson Residents Encouraged to Help Secure Competitive Grant for Water System Improvements

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

A public hearing was held over a $550,000 OCRA wastewater/drinking water grant during last week’s North Judson Town Council meeting.

Executive Director of Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission Edwin Buswell provided some information about the proposed Office of Community and Rural Affairs grant, explaining that it will be utilized for various water system improvements. He said the local match of $1,268,000 would come from the state revolving loan fund.

One individual asked about the potential impact this could have on taxes. Buswell replied that he believes the rate increase that was implemented earlier this year would cover the cost and no additional increases will be necessary. Continue reading →

North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Settles Purchase Order Uncertainty

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The North Judson Town Council members previously refrained from acting on a purchase order from the Starke County Economic Development Foundation until they could acquire more information about the charge.

At their town council meeting last week Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe elaborated on the existing contract between the two entities.

Mr. Rowe explained that in the agreement for planning and implementing economic development programs, it states that the town will pay twenty percent of the tax revenue they receive from the economic development tax in two yearly payments. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Approves Recommendation for Fourth Full-Time Officer

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan
Chief Deputy Frank Thomas, Police Chief Kelly Fisher, James Dulin & Officer Rico Simpson (photo provided by Peggy Bohac)

Town Marshal Kelly Fisher recommended appointing James Dulin to the open position at the North Judson Police Department during last night’s North Judson Town Council meeting.

According to Fisher, the hiring process included a physical agility test that was structured after academy exit standards, a written exam and point-based interviews conducted by a seven person panel.

The panel included all three full-time officers with the NJ PD, a retired resident with past law-enforcement experience, a former Chief Deputy, a current officer with the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Councilman John Rowe as the town council’s liaison. Continue reading →