Medaryville council talks problems with trash

Medaryville Town council members voiced their concerns about trash and trash carts in the town limits.

Town councilwoman Corrie Hauptli said there have been several complaints about the accumulating trash in residents’ yards.

“Since we are getting the garbage cart ordinance rolling, citations are being written, that has been the biggest complaint that I hear. So I thought before the spring season, before everything hits and people are outside we can attempt to have people clean up their yards,” Hauptli said.

She questioned if the current garbage ordinances address issues with cleaning up yards. She was going to ask town attorney Amber Lapaich regarding the situation but Lapaich was not present at the meeting.

Councilwoman Carolyn Hager said she was curious about what is considered trash and what is considered what other people use.

“That is why I wanted to talk to Amber about how we can make definitive descriptions as to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable,” Hauptli said.

She cited the ordinance regarding trash being on the properties in the town limits and how it is unlawful to store, dump or accumulate any kind of garbage.

Councilman Derrick Stalbaum said before it was that the council didn’t want to define what trash is, but now the council may want to move forward after some discussion.

Several ideas were discussed about cleaning up the town and how it can be done without an extra expense to anyone including a townwide clean-up day.

The council will wait to talk with Lapaich.

In the meantime, council members remind residents that if they are concerned with garbage in someone’s yard then they need to let town officials know which residence or yard needs to be cleaned up.

There was also a question of if a resident can cancel their garbage collection service with the town. According to Stalbaum, who cited the town ordinances, “if you accumulate garbage whatsoever you have to have a garbage cart provided by the town. There is no way of going through a third-party vendor except the one the town is going through.”

Maintenance supervisor Keith Hauptli said one resident is not using the trash carts. Stalbaum said in that situation the town can write a letter to the resident and after 10 days can remove the trash. A fine can then be applied.

“If there is no question whether it is junk or garbage, I have no qualms about us serving them. That’s my opinion,” Stalbaum said. “If there is trash, it’s a safety concern. It is a health violation for the town.”

Stalbaum advised Keith to start noting addresses and letters will be sent out.

In other business:

• Minutes from the Jan. 21 meeting were approved.

• Claims of $40,446.20 in the general fund, $12,942.27 in the water fund and of $45,417.03 in the wastewater fund were approved. Clerk treasurer Judy Harwood said the wastewater claim amount is substantially higher than usual because a payment of $40,064.44 was made to pay off a bond.

• Utility adjustments in the sum of $48.54 were approved.

• A request to purchase emergency lights for the new town truck was approved with the stipulation that not more than $750 can be spent.

• A request to rebuild two meter heads and assemblies for $1,817.50 plus shipping and handling costs was approved pending there would not be additional costs regarding the labor of the installing the equipment.

• The council gave Keith Hauptli permission to look into the expense of new water pumps and adding phosphate to the system to reduce the damage that iron and chlorine are causing on the system. Stalbaum told him to move forward with it and receive some quotes to present to the council.

• Stalbaum said the town is requesting permission to extend the letting of the bids regarding the wastewater treatment plant project by 30 days because there is a change to the one of the items necessary to the project. New bid specs must be sent out, according to Stalbaum. Stalbaum said the council is waiting for the approval of the 30-day extension to receive an efficient bid.

• Medaryville Little League representatives, Sue Nielson and Rob Connor, approached the council to cover concerns that council members were having in regards to the program and the town now owning the baseball field. Some of the concerns were the electric costs and how they’re paid, who will take care of the buildings and maintenance of the property, and who pays for the insurance for the building. Stalbaum said he would like to see a certificate of liability insurance and insurance that covers the players before the season starts. No decisions were made and a lease agreement is being created based on the discussion and will not be completed by the time the baseball season begins.

• The third reading of Ordinance 2015-02-01 creating a nonreverting fund titled “Ordinance Violation Fund” was approved.

• Council members agreed that if they are contacted again by Energy Efficiency Telamon Corporation in regards to future solar energy being produced on town property, they will proceed with the process of an application.

Pulaski County Journal

114 W. Main Street
Winamac, IN 46996

(574) 946-6628
 

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