Winamac Town Council Approves Backflow Testing Fees

Winamac Water Department Superintendent Jeremy Beckner presented town council members with different fees to consider for the town’s backflow testing services during Monday night’s meeting.

When the town adjusted their water rates, they also offered to perform backflow testing for a flat $35 rate. However, Proscapes Owner Jason Potthoff came before the council and expressed a concern that the low rate for all systems, regardless of size, may prevent other licensed businesses from fairly competing with the town for backflow testing services.

Before approving the amended water rates, the town removed the section about backflow testing fees so Superintendent Beckner could do some research and provide some other potential prices. Continue reading

Winamac Town Council Holds Public Hearing Over Application for $700,000 OCRA Grant

Winamac Town Council members held a public hearing over their OCRA grant application Monday night.

OCRA Certified Grant Administrator Mike Kleinpeter began the hearing by stating that the town is applying for $700,000 with a $550,000 match for proposed wastewater treatment facility upgrades. Kleinpeter said town’s project is competing with 17 other proposals. The application must be submitted by February in order to be eligible for funding.

Midwestern Engineers CEO Mark Sullivan explained that the proposed upgrades are not optional.When the town renewed their NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Permit last year, they were given 3 years to adapt plant procedures to the new Environmental Protection Agency compliance regulating ammonia levels. Continue reading

Open Seats in Pulaski County for 2018 Elections

Wednesday marks the first day a declaration of candidacy may be filed and several Pulaski County positions will be up for election this year.

Seats are open for Circuit Court and Superior Court Judges who each serve 6-year terms. Elections will also be held for the 4-year terms of Prosecuting Attorney, Clerk of Courts, the Sheriff, Assessor, Surveyor, Coroner and Commissioner for District #3. All registered voters can vote for these positions and may also cast a vote for the delegate to State Conventions. Continue reading

Winamac Town Council to Hold Public Hearing Over OCRA Grant Tonight, Regular Meeting Scheduled for Afterwards

The Winamac Town Council will hold a public hearing to discuss the OCRA Grant Application for the Wastewater project. It will be held at 6 p.m. with their regular meeting rescheduled to take place immediately after the hearing adjourns.

The OCRA Grant that is up for discussion is a competitive grant worth $700,000 that will help cover costs of the proposed upgrades to the Wastewater treatment plant. In order to be eligible for the funding, the application will need to be submitted by February 9th. Continue reading

Property Owner Brings Request to Section Off a Portion of Franklin Street Before Winamac Town Council

Property owner Jason Potthoff approached Winamac Town Council members last week, seeking permission to section off a portion of Franklin Street that carries onto his property.

Potthoff first stated that the section in question is much more like an alley than a street.. He explained that he currently owns the old Co-Op property at the end of Franklin Street. He told council members that he recently obtained the last building in the area that he didn’t own and clean-up crews have started some work on the structure.

He said now that the entire property is being utilized, safety concerns are what brought him to the council to propose a potential solution. Continue reading

Winamac Town Council Opens Bids for Cemetery Mowing Contract

Winamac town council members opened mowing bids for the town cemetery when they met last Monday.

Council President Tom Murray opened two bids for the mowing contracts. The first came from Councilman Dan Vanaman for $1,950. President Murray mentioned that an insurance certificate came with the bid and that it indicated that the price for mow and trim for each time.

The second bid came Compton Lawn Care for $2,875 per mowing. President Murray said he believed they couldn’t meet the terms of the bid since it indicated that payment terms due five business days after invoice and the invoice would be submitted immediately after the mowing job. Continue reading

New Winamac Police Department On Main Street is Open to the Public

During their Monday night meeting, Winamac Town Council members were notified that renovations to the new Police Station are nearing completion.

Employees from the water, sewage, street and electric departments have assisted with the project for the last several months. Town Manager Brad Zellers previously stated that approximately $70,000 was saved just by utilizing town employees for certain aspects of the project. Continue reading

Winamac Town Council Members Approve Economic Development Income Tax Plan With a Vote of 4-1

Winamac Town Council members reviewed an ordinance detailing the EDIT Plan for 2018 and 2019 when they met this week.

Clerk-Treasurer Melanie Berger explained that the EDIT Plan outlines proposed projects that will utilize county economic development income tax funds for the next two years.

Town Attorney Justin Schramm added that State Code requires towns to spend 75% of what they receive. He said the figures provided for 2019 were estimated since they do not currently know how much Winamac will receive that year. Schramm said for the 2019 amount, he reduced next year’s amount by 20 percent to present conservative figures just in case they receive less. Continue reading

Winamac Town Council Members Pass Amended Salary Ordinance

Holding a valid journeyman card will result in a higher starting pay for employees hired onto the Winamac Electric Department, following a decision made by the town council members Monday night.

Council members voted unanimously to pass an amended salary ordinance which specifies that an electric department employee who is a licensed journeyman can be hired at an hourly rate of $23.55. Continue reading

Winamac Town Council Members Approve Truck Purchase for Electric Department

Winamac Town Council members approved the purchase of a Digger Derrick Truck for the Electric Department when they met Monday night. Town Manager Brad Zellers explained that Digger Derrick Trucks are utilized by electric departments to dig holes for light posts.

Zeller explained that initially, they wanted to go with the least expensive truck bid which was submitted by the company Altec. However, he said they had issues getting anybody from that company to come out to go over the details of the sale. Continue reading

Winamac Town Council Members Unanimously Pass Water Rate Ordinance after Removing Section about Backflow Testing

A public hearing was held over water rate adjustments prior to last night’s Winamac Town Council meeting.

The adjustments to the water raters are being proposed as a way to cover the town’s water project. Eric Walsh from Umbaugh and Associates was present and provided some details about the $1.6 million water project.

He explained that the town has been planning for this project for many years, which assisted them in receiving a grant from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs in the amount of $550,000. He added that the remainder of the project will be covered by borrowing from the electric utility at 1% interest rate. He said this will cause water rates to rise slightly.

Walsh said, “It is resulting in about a 9 percent, little less than 9 percent increase on your water bills. So to an average residential customer [using] about 5,000 gallons a month, that’s a $3 a month of an increase.”

Walsh said if the town hadn’t pre-planned or received the OCRA grant, rates could have increased by about 20 percent, costing the average customer to pay $6 to $7 more. He said no one likes to increase rates, but he commended the council members for the proactive steps they took to keep the increases from being doubled. Continue reading

Winamac Town Council to Hold Public Hearing Over Water Rates Tonight

A public hearing will be held over adjustments to water rates in Winamac prior to the regularly scheduled town council meeting tonight. The council’s regular session will commence immediately following the public hearing which is set for 6 p.m. ET.

During the clerk-treasurer’s report, the council will hold the second reading over the water rate ordinance. Adjustments to the water rates are being proposed in order to help cover costs for the town’s water project. Continue reading

Community Foundation of Pulaski County to Continue Moving Forward with Winamac Pool Project

Rendering of rebuilt Winamac pool.

The Community Foundation of Pulaski County plans to continue working with the Winamac Park Board on the town’s swimming pool rebuilding project. The foundation’s board of directors got an update last month from Park Board President Courtney Poor, along with town council and pool committee member Judy Heater.

Continue reading

Winamac Town Council to Hold Public Hearing Tonight on Proposed Wastewater Plant Upgrades

Winamac residents will have the chance to weigh in on proposed upgrades to the town’s wastewater plant during a public hearing tonight. The town plans to apply to the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs for $700,000 in federal funding. That money would help pay for work at the wastewater plant to help with ammonia removal, according to Town Manager Brad Zellers.

Continue reading

Winamac Police Station Project Nears Completion

At the Winamac Town Council meeting last Monday it was revealed that the renovations to the new police station are nearly complete.

Employees with various departments have been working hard to complete aspects of the project that relate to their various positions. Town Manager Brad Zellers reported that since town employees were utilized for much of the work, they were able to save around $70,000 on the project. Continue reading

Amendments to Salary Ordinance Considered by Winamac Town Council

Amendments to the Winamac salary ordinance were considered on first reading when the Winamac Town Council met on Monday night.

Town Attorney Justin Schramm explained to council members that the first proposed change deals specifically with the salary of the parks and recreation department secretary.

He stated, “It changes the parks and recreation secretary from $30 a meeting to $1,000 payable the first pay period of December.” Continue reading

Winamac Town Council Holds First Reading Over Water Rate Adjustment Ordinance

The Winamac Town Council held the first reading over a proposed Water Rate Adjustment Ordinance when they met Monday night. Town Attorney Justin Schramm mentioned that Eric Walsh with Umbaugh and Associates put the ordinance together.

The proposed changes are being considered to help cover costs of the Town’s water project which is anticipated to cost approximately $1.5 million. Some additional funds for the project will come from a grant recently received from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

A public hearing is scheduled for December 11th, prior to the regularly scheduled meeting. During the regular meeting, members will hold the adoption proceedings over the ordinance. Continue reading