Minutes 4/4/18 and 4/10/18

Meeting Minutes – April 4, 2018

The Churubusco Town Council met on April 4, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall. Members present were Council President Frank Kessler, Council Members Mark Pepple and Bruce Johnson, and Clerk-Treasurer, Madalyn Sade-Bartl. Also in attendance were area residents Pat Stanford, Nick & Yvonne Bianski, Todd Shively, Brian Clark, Miles Wilson, and Cheryl Fleming; a representative from the Churubusco News; Town Marshal Mike Engle; and Park Supervisor Rick Krider.

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

Approval of March 21, 2018 and March 26, 2018 meeting minutes:

Mr. Johnson made a motion to approve the minutes from March 21, 2018. Mr. Pepple seconded, and the motion carried 3-0. Approval of the March 26 minutes were tabled until the next meeting.

Approval of Claims and Payroll Vouchers:

Claims Vouchers dated for April 4, 2018 in the amount of $256,964.57 were presented and approved.

Public Comment:

Nick and Yvonne Bianski wished to follow up with the Council about the status of fixing a storm tile that is located underneath their house. The Bianskis had attended the February 7^th meeting and voiced their issues and concerns and, at the time, the Council stated it may take until the fall to fix the issue. Since that meeting, Mr. Hart had approached a couple of different engineers about the project in hopes the issue would be fixed in a timelier manner. The Bianskis were told a structural engineer would also assess the damage to their house as they contended there was structural damage to the foundation and their floors had dropped. However, after speaking to one of the civil engineers who had looked at the site, they had not seen the structural engineer yet and they were wondering when they would be coming. President Kessler stated that they (the Bianskis) knew more about the timeline than he did, and Mr. Pepple stated Mr. Hart would be back from vacation the following Tuesday and they would be able to set up a meeting at that time, but without Mr. Hart at the meeting, the Council was unable to answer any of those questions.

New Business:

President Kessler reversed the order of the meeting agenda.

Cheryl Fleming was present to discuss the Churubusco United Methodist Church 5K race path. She explained the Church was celebrating its 50^th Anniversary this month and, to celebrate, they were hosting a free 5K race on April 21^st at 5 pm. They had modified the New Era 5K route. President Kessler asked Marshal Engle if he had looked at the route and if he had any issues with the modification. Marshal Engle stated everything looked fine. The route was agreed upon by consensus.

Ms. Bartl presented pay request #1 from API in the amount of $166,960.93. Mr. Johnson made a motion to approve the pay request. Mr. Pepple seconded, and the motion carried 3-0.

Old Business:

President Kessler asked if the other Council members had an opportunity to look at the proposed playground locations- the area next to the Scout Building and near the new soccer pavilion. Mr. Johnson stated he was just around the soccer field the previous weekend for MEGGA Hunt and the area was very swampy. President Kessler stated he had a contractor look at both areas and both areas would require about the same amount of fill to make them level. Mr. Krider argued that it was wet by the soccer fields because it had rained heavily the days preceding the MEGGA Hunt. Mr. Johnson lamented that if the rain the days prior was the reason why there was standing water in the area, then wouldn’t the area next to the Scout Building have had standing water, too, because it did not. He added the area next to the Scout Building was no where near as muddy as it was near the soccer fields. Mr. Pepple asked Miles Wilson, President of the Youth Foundation, if he could see the proposed playground renderings and asked Mr. Wilson what CYF was hoping to do at the Park. Wilson stated the original thought was to update what we currently have without impacting the trees. He continued by stating the current playground is in the heart of the Park and CYF thought it would stay in the heart of the Park. Mr. Pepple asked what the timeline was for completing the project. Ms. Bartl stated that the three renderings would go home in Friday folders the following Friday as well as an explanation of the voting procedures. The voting would then be open the following week and the design with the most votes would win. Wilson continued by explaining that once a design is chosen, it takes six weeks for the equipment to come in. Pat Stanford chimed in that, as a parent, he did not like the idea of putting it over by the soccer fields were as there is no shade in that area. He felt that having shade nearby was an important factor in the placement of the new playground. Mr. Pepple asked if President Kessler would be ok with tabling the issue until next meeting since Mr. Krider had just seen the proposed designs. He said he was ok with that decision. Before moving on, Mr. Johnson asked Mr. Krider how many t-ball diamonds would need to be replaced if the playground was put in that location. Mr. Krider stated at least one would need to be moved. Mr. Wilson also stated he was hoping not to use any town resources in completing this project, but President Kessler stated he would not rule out the Town’s participation

Before moving onto department reports, President Kessler asked if the Council had seen the revised salary ordinance. Both members had seen the revised ordinance which added summer construction help to the ordinance so longtime independent contractor, Stu Rasler, could be reclassified as an employee. Mr. Johnson asked if he would be eligible for insurance. Ms. Bartl stated he would not be as he would be part-time. Mr. Pepple made a motion to approve the changes in the salary ordinance. Mr. Johnson seconded, and the motion passed 3-0.  

Department Reports:

Jeremy Hart, Town Supervisor:

Mr. Hart was not present but left the attached report.

Bob Gray, Waste Water Treatment Plant Supervisor

Mr. Gray was not present.

Michael Engle, Town Marshal:

Marshal Engle stated the new squad car was in and the old squad was sold to another police department for $12,000.

Rick Krider, Park Supervisor:

Mr. Krider stated the Park was picking up.

Ron Felger, Town Attorney:

Mr. Felger was not present.

Council Reports:

President Frank Kessler:

President Kessler had nothing to report.

Bruce Johnson:

Mr. Johnson had nothing to report.

Mark Pepple:

Mr. Pepple stated the EMA would be meeting soon.

Madalyn Sade-Bartl:

Ms. Sade-Bartl presented the attached report.

Having no other business and after all proper papers were signed, President Kessler adjourned the regular meeting.

Meeting Minutes – April 10, 2018

The Churubusco Town Council met on April 10, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. in the Town Hall. Members present were Council President Frank Kessler, Council Members Mark Pepple and Bruce Johnson, and Clerk-Treasurer, Madalyn Sade-Bartl. Also in attendance were Jay Stankiewicz, Fleis & Vandenbrink; and Mackenzie DeGroot, Churubusco News.

Council President Frank Kessler called the meeting to order, stated the purpose of the special meeting was to open bids for the Community Crossings Matching Grant project. He led the Pledge of Allegiance and roll was called by the Clerk. All members were present.

New Business:

The Council received three bids for the project. President Kessler opened the bids and reported the following:

Mr. Stankiewicz recommended to the Council to approve the contract to E&B contingent on the engineer’s certification. Mr. Johnson made a motion to accept the low bid of $1,025,042.56 and approve the CCMG contract to E&B contingent on the engineer’s certification. Mr. Pepple seconded, and the motion carried 3-0. Mr. Stankiewicz thanked the Council and stated he would certify the bids in the morning and get the contract to President Kessler and Ms. Bartl to sign before the end of the week.

Having no other business and after all proper papers were signed, President Kessler adjourned the regular meeting.