Minutes 4/19/16

Meeting Minutes-April 19, 2016

The Churubusco Town Council met for a special meeting on April 19, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. in the Town Hall. Members present were President Frank Kessler, Council Members Mark Pepple and Bruce Johnson, and Clerk- Treasurer, Madalyn Sade-Bartl. Also in attendance was Kristi Sturtz, Sturtz Public Management Group; Nick Rupert, Post & Mail; and Town Supervisor, Jeremy Hart.

Council President Kessler called the meeting to order, welcomed visitors and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll was called by the Clerk-Treasurer. All members were present.

New Business:

Given it was a public meeting, President Kessler went directly to new business. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss possible grant opportunities and in order to plan what grants to apply for, a plan needed to be developed on areas of possible expansion. President Kessler opened the meeting to an open discussion. He asked the Council of their opinions of if they would like to see Churubusco grow and if so, where to grow. Mr. Pepple stated the only real option to grow would be to annex and asked Ms. Sturtz about the annexation process as it had changed over the past years. Ms. Sturtz covered the changes and the requirements of annexation as covered in IC 36-4-3. After some questions concerning the process and possible areas to the south of town, the Council decided it would be best to gather information and present it to residents in the areas that would be affected prior to officially starting the process. The Council thought it best to start with the area of Circle Drive. A letter would be sent with a questionnaire with going door-to-door as a possibility.

Ms. Bartl presented two maps (one for the north end of town and one for the west end of town) outlining a proposed water loop which she and Mr. Hart were hoping to obtain OCRA funds to complete. Ms. Bartl stated portions of these projects had been included on the Capital Improvement Plan for several years and the projects were modified from the CIP to make our grant application more appealing to the selection committee. Mr. Hart stated he was waiting for cost estimates from DLZ. Mr. Pepple asked what the matching percentage would be if a grant was obtained and Ms. Bartl informed him it would be an 80/20 match. The Council wished to see some estimates before making a final determination of whether to apply. Ms. Sturtz added this year may be the best time to complete the water project as two OCRA construction grants cannot be open at the same time and if the Town was planning on annexing and extending sewer service to the south, OCRA was a great funding option.

With the possibility of water extension on the north side, Ms. Bartl asked if annexing that area was also a possibility. She explained the comprehensive plan had outlined an area to the north for possible residential or light industrial use which was not in town. She also stated there were about 10 homes outlining Thresher’s Ridge which had not been annexed when Thresher’s was annexed and most already had at least one service from the Town. Mr. Pepple stated he felt the area should be included in any future annexations, especially if water was going to be available in the area.

Having no other business, President Kessler adjourned the special meeting.