Shipshewana Council Meeting
August 27th, 2020 @ 6:00 P.M.
WOLFE COMMUNITY BUILDING
345 N. Morton Street
Shipshewana, IN 46565
COUNCIL PRESENT: C. Arlene Lazzaro, Elmer J. Mast, Joshua A. Weimer, Zachary J. Stoltzfus, Tad T. Hite.
MOTION: A motion passed to accept the agenda with flexibility.
OPEN SEALED BIDS – FIRE TRUCK: Two sealed bids were received as follows: DePuty Volunteer Fire Department of DePuty, IN $60,000.00; Quad County Fire Equipment, Inc. of Saunemin, IL $60,300.00. Both bids were submitted on the prescribed form. Quad County Fire Equipment, Inc. had a second page that listed acceptance conditions of the vehicle such as being in the same physical and mechanical condition as when viewed on 3/12/2019, including that the seller would be responsible for any repair costs for condition changes. The Fire Chief reported that the vehicle is still in service and has been used since March 12th. Discussion followed.
MOTION: A motion passed awarding the bid for the 2005 International 7400 Tanker Fire Truck to DePuty Volunteer Fire Department of DePuty, IN in the amount of $60,000.00.
ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP FUND IN MEMORY OF ELDON HOSTETLER: LaGrange County Community Foundation Executive Director, Octavia Yoder provided information to the Council regarding Scholarship Funding Award Amounts, examples of investment earnings, and how management of the scholarship could be handled. Discussion followed regarding possible criteria for the scholarship fund, and the fact that it will be 1 year after the endowment is set up before an award can be made. Discussion followed. A recommendation was made to hold a workshop for further discussion after contacting the family to see if a family representative would like to be involved in the establishment of the scholarship eligibility.
HPG (High Performance Group) UPDATE: The Town has entered into a MOU with HPG to contact possible developers for a Residential Subdivision to be developed in Shipshewana. R. Chasey of HPG reported that there is a County Wide Strategy with 3 possible development sites. We need to establish a task force of leaders to develop tools for financial gaps and establish action Items for the group. There has been public release of the Countywide data that has been gathered regarding types and the number of houses needed in the area including some specific data on the Shipshewana area. The next step is to focus on pre-development work, obtain site control, and engage possible developers. The Town may have the need to reach out to other community leaders regarding the importance of this project. We need the right people at the table for direction. The proposed property is ideally located, and the development will be built to Town standards. In 10 years, the Town could see 350 to 400 new residential units. A small steering committee is needed to help move the project forward. Discussion followed. J. Weimer volunteered to serve on the committee along with Bob as the head of the steering committee. Discussion followed regarding the possibility of an apartment complex development on the north side of Town along with the need to grow the Town’s Assessed Value.
POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Corporal N. Byroad had nothing to report.
LIGTEL UPDATE: A Ligtel representative was not available to attend the meeting. The hope is that they will move forward with a plan to provide fiber connectivity to both homes and businesses in the near future at a reasonable price. A representative from Ligtel will be invited to the next Council meeting.
SEWER BILL ADJUSTMENT REQUESTS: Two sewer bill adjustment requests were presented to the Council for lawn sprinkling. Adjustments presented were based on the same three-month period that the Summer Sprinkling allowance is based on. Discussion followed.
MOTION: A motion passed approving a sewer adjustment of $83.49 for 695 E. Country Lane.
MOTION: A motion passed approving a sewer adjustment of $271.66 for 1415 Stratford Lane.
HEALTH INSURANCE MLR (Medical Loss Ratio) Rebate: The Clerk-Treasurer reported that Town received a check from Anthem Insurance for our MLR Rebate in the amount of $400.06. The check has been deposited into the Town Payroll Fund. Darron Longenecker of Creative Benefit Solutions (CBS) has advised me that 85% of the check comes back to the Town with the other 15% being due the employee. The option for the Council’s considerations is do I distribute the rebate to the employees at approximately $4.29 per employee or do I apply that amount to their January premium. Discussion followed.
MOTION: A motion passed authorizing the Clerk-Treasurer to apply the MLR Rebate from Anthem to the Town Employees January 1st premium.
DOXO UTILITY PAYMENTS: The Clerk-Treasurer reported that a one-stop bill payment company called DOXO had contacted the Town several times with the request to use direct deposit into a Town bank account rather than issue a check to the Town for the six utility customers that are currently using their service. The SBOA will not take audit exception if the council is OK with DOXO as a vendor accepting utility payments on behalf of the Town. Discussion followed.
MOTION: A motion passed denying DOXO’s request to deposit utility customer payments directly into the Town’s bank account.
GATOR & ATTACHMENT PURCHASE: The Town Manager reported that our current gator was received by the Town through the Military Surplus program and its top speed is now 8 mph. Five quotes were requested but only two quotes were received. Planet Power Sports of Coldwater, MI; Osborne’s Power Sport of Fort Wayne, and North End Cycle of Elkhart, IN did not respond to the request for a quote. The first quote received is from John Deere in the amount of $20,776.84 but you cannot attach equipment to it. The second quote is from Stutzman Power Equipment, LLC of Shipshewana for a Kubota Gator. The quote for the Kubota Gator is $18,100.00 with equipment needed to plow parking lots and broom off the Pumpkinvine trail the total cost of the project will be $31,199.00. Discussion followed.
MOTION: A motion passed approving the quote from Stutzman Power Equipment, LLC of Shipshewana, IN for the purchase for a Kubota Gator, broom, plow and installation equipment for a total cost of $31,199.00.
NIBLOCK PAY REQUEST #2: Niblock pay request #2 in the amount due of $212,429.38 for the E. Middlebury Street project was presented to the Council for their consideration.
MOTION: A motion passed adjourning the meeting.
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Zachary J. Stoltzfus, Council Vice-President C. Arlene Lazzaro, Council Member
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Elmer J. Mast, Council Member Joshua A. Weimer, Council Member
ATTEST: ________________________________________
Ruth Ann Downey, Clerk-Treasurer
