Winamac Town Council Members Schedule Interview Date to Fill Town Marshal Position

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

At Monday night’s Winamac Town Council meeting Town Marshal Mike Buchanan announced his resignation to council members.

He said the resignation will go into effect on July 1st. The council thanked him for his years of service to the community and commended him for the great work he’s done as the head of the Winamac Police Department.

Marshal Buchanan didn’t have any suggestions for his replacement but he did recommend adding Reserve Officer Alec Berger to the full-time force to replace whoever takes over as town marshal. Continue reading →

Winamac Town Council Approves Quote for Renovation Work Needed at the Utilities Complex

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

On Monday, Winamac Town Manager Brad Zellers informed town council members of some renovation work that must be done at the Utilities Complex.

The electric department is now utilizing the space in that building that used to be the police station. So far they’ve done some in-house work such as painting, organizing and taking care of smaller details.

Zellers explained that there are some issues with the garage on the east side of the building that will require them to seek outside assistance. Continue reading →

Winamac Town Manager to Look into Property Request More Before Making Recommendation

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Winamac Town Manager Brad Zellers plans to look into a particular property request a little more before bringing any definitive recommendations before town council members.

Back in December, property owner Jason Potthoff requested sectioning off a portion of a road that carries onto his property. Potthoff explained that he owns the old Co-Op building at the end of Franklin Street. Continue reading →

Questions Raised Over Particular Appointment at Winamac Town Council Meeting

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

During Monday Night’s Winamac Town Council meeting, while on the topic of appointments, the position of “Pulaski County Family Y Representative” was brought up. Councilwoman Judy Heater was previously appointed to this position. However, she said she had no absolutely no interest in serving on that board again.

Council President Tom Murray asked what they would need to do with this position since the organization now operates as the Community Wellness Center of Winamac and is no longer a Family YMCA. Continue reading →

Winamac Deputy Marshal Tyler Campbell Recognized for Heroic Act

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

At this week’s Winamac Town Council meeting, Deputy Marshal Tyler Campbell was recognized for a call that he responded to on Christmas day.

Town Marshal Mike Buchanan explained that Officer Campbell was dispatched around 2:30 a.m. on December 25th for a call about an unresponsive infant. Campbell performed CPR at the residence and continued providing assistance while in the ambulance. Buchanan said by the time they reached the hospital, the infant was breathing and then the doctors and emergency staff took over.

The mother of the child was at the meeting and presented Campbell with a token of her gratitude. Continue reading →

Town of Winamac Continues Contract with Umbaugh for Budget Assistance

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Winamac town council members permitted Clerk-Treasurer Melanie Berger to move forward with a contract with Umbaugh and Associates for financial assistance with the 2019 budget.

Berger explained that the contract remained the same and the fee is still around $7,000. Last year, the majority of their efforts went toward helping them figure out issues with the Local Income Tax. Continue reading →

Winamac Town Council Approves Backflow Testing Fees

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

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 →