March 18, 2020

Meeting Minutes – March 18, 2020

The Churubusco Town Council met on March 18, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. in the Town Hall. Members present were Council Members Mark Pepple, Bruce Johnson, and Nathan Van Horn; and Clerk-Treasurer, Madalyn Sade-Bartl. Also in attendance were Theresa Green; Nicole Minier, Churubusco News; and Town Marshal, Dustin Papenbrock.

Council President, Mark Pepple, 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 Claims and Payroll Vouchers:

Claims Vouchers dated March 18, 2020 in the amount of $134,146.40 were presented and approved.

Public Comment:

There were no public comments.

Old Business:

There was no old business.

New Business:

1. 1.       Resolution 2020-05: A Resolution Approving Certain Policy Changes in Light of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: Ms. Bartl presented Resolution 2020-05. The Resolution would allow the Town to change some policies during the public health crisis. Mr. Van Horn made a motion to approve Resolution 2020-05 as presented. Mr. Johnson seconded, and the motion carried 3-0.
2. 2.       REACH Alert agreement: Ms. Bartl presented an agreement from REACH Alert. She stated she had been in discussion with Ken from REACH Alert for a couple of years and because of the public health crisis, she finally thought it was time to actually start using the service. The service would be similar to Remind or other emergency notification software. People can sign up to receive notifications from the Town in the case of emergencies, announcements, or events. Mr. Van Horn stated he liked the technology and could see a lot of uses for it. Mr. Johnson agreed and made a motion to enter into an agreement with REACH Alert. Mr. Van Horn seconded, and the motion carried 3-0.
3. 3.       Hiring of deputy marshal: Marshal Papenbrock stated he had made a choice as to who to hire for the open deputy marshal position. He stated he would like to hire Tyler Halpern for the position, but stated that with the COVID-19 shutdowns, he probably would not be going to the Academy until at least August, if not later, but because Halpern was one of two finalists for an open Columbia City position, he would like to for us to extend him an offer. Ms. Bartl stated the wages Papenbrock had promised Halpern were almost $6,000 higher than what the salary ordinance stated. President Pepple stated he didn’t want to lose a good higher over $6,000 and was open to changing the salary ordinance. Ms. Bartl stated that would have to be done at a meeting and could not approve paying Halpern at the higher rate until that change was made. Council would have to approve his hire, change the salary ordinance, and then approve his pay to be increased to the higher amount. President Pepple told Ms. Bartl to prepare a revised ordinance for the next meeting. Mr. Johnson made a motion to approve the hiring of Tyler Halpern with a start date to be determined by Marshal Papenbrock. Mr. Van Horn seconded, and the motion carried 3-0.

Department Reports:

Jeremy Hart, Town Supervisor:

Mr. Hart was not present.

Bob Gray, Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor

Mr. Gray was not present.

Dustin Papenbrock, Town Marshal:

Marshal Papenbrock had nothing more to report.

Rick Krider, Park Supervisor:

Mr. Krider had nothing to report.

Ron Felger, Town Attorney:

Mr. Felger was not present.

Council Reports:

President Mark Pepple:

President Pepple had nothing to report.

Bruce Johnson:

Mr. Johnson had nothing to report.

Nathan Van Horn:

Mr. Van Horn had nothing to report.

Madalyn Sade-Bartl:

Ms. Sade-Bartl had nothing to report, but reminded everyone the meeting for April 1, 2020 was canceled. President Pepple advised her to research how to do virtual meetings for the April 15, 2020 meeting.

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