Town of Osgood Minutes

Regular Meeting
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
7:00 P.M.
 

Present at the meeting were Tammy Wilhoit, Holley Rose, Chris Kuhn, Lynn Fledderman, Steve Wilhoit, Will Wallace, Dale Gick, Reyna and James Jackson.

Pledge of Allegiance.

Moment of silence in memory of our friend and colleague, Norman Kappes.

Roll Call – all present

Motion to waive the reading and adopt the pre-read minutes. Holley 1st, Chris 2nd
2 - ayes

Old Business: (Lynn)

Updates on Ordinance Violation suits:

445 N. Maple – repair estimate has been obtained and Lynn filed the paperwork today.

Commonwealth Engineers – Project Update Memo:

2022 Community Crossing Project – Still working on obtaining signatures for easements,

February 24th bid opening and tentative award,

March 2nd construction agreement executed,

March 3rd construction agreement submitted to INDOT, and

An addendum will be issued in the next few days.

Hunt Street – Water is running across the street near 118 Hunt Street. The water is ponding in the grass area near the front door. Steve and Commonwealth are looking into ways to address the issue.

Water Improvements Project – OCRA application was submitted on December 17th and the Town did not receive the OCRA Grant.

Received a Legal Notice of Public Hearing for the Board of Zoning Appeals – Southeastern Indiana REMC has an application for variation in the regulations of the zoning ordinance: Variance from the sign setback requirement of 20 ft. to 1.6 ft. and from the maximum sign face of 32 sq. ft. to 64 sq. ft. to permit a sign in the Local Business district. Public Hearing will be held on March 1, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. in the meeting room in the Ripley County Courthouse Annex, Versailles. Chris Kuhn talked to the engineer and he was supposed to email a picture but never got it. It’s going to be an electronic sign.

Chris Kuhn would like to discuss the Water Project and the OCRA grant at the special meeting on February 24th at 6:00 p.m., after bid opening.

Police Department - Will Wallace stated that he has made the adjustments to the schedule that Chris had asked for at the last meeting. They will be attending the Indiana Drug Enforcement conference this month.

Street Department - Steve Wilhoit stated that he did go over to 118 Hunt on Wednesday and installed some gravel. He believed it helped dramatically and the owner agreed. An easement will need to be signed for any new work completed. Steve will monitor the situation since we are supposed to get a couple inches of rain on Thursday. The issue will be addressed. He also stated that the snow equipment blades are 12 years old, they’ve been repaired, but we are going to have to look at grants that may be available for next winter to replace plows. A new truck has been on order since 2020 (550), he is hoping to get the build sheet in February.

Gas Department - Steve Wilhoit stated that March is normal time for leak surveys and USDI will perform them. The cathodic protection survey is due this year. He said that maybe he could have school kids paint every meter bar in the system and it may be worth looking at hiring 2- 3 school kids. The ads for hiring a regular gas department employee have not been successful. Steve is working on a couple options and will get back with the council.

The Community Crossing Project pre-construction meeting went well. Majestic Electric has turned in a quote for the lighting project. Steve had previously spoken to Reyna Jackson about the firework store property and stated that the proper channels have to be followed to deal with the complaint. Ripley County Area Plan Commission did send a violation letter to the owner of the property. When the time expires, the County should notify us so we can proceed with legal action.

Reyna Jackson stated that the County wouldn’t let her file a complaint on the firework store because they already had too many complaints. She stated that she did file one on Hometown Auto. She stated that her husband counted 12 vehicles on the firework property and some don’t have license plates. Hometown Auto is adding vehicles behind the service station and on Short Street.

Reyna Jackson also stated that there are O’Mara, Forrester, and other individual vehicles from the REMC project that are turning around in the driveway of one of her rental properties. Steve stated that he can talk to them and ask them not to turn around in her drive. Another renter asked about installing a “No Outlet” sign in the alley.

Claims signed.

Motion to adjourn the meeting. Holley 1st, Chris 2nd
2 - ayes