Town of Osgood Minutes

Regular Meeting
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
7:00 P.M.

Present at the meeting were Lynn Fledderman, Norman Kappes, Tammy Wilhoit, Holley Rose, David Bultman, Nick Buchanan, Will Wallace, Tina Wallace, Steve Wilhoit, Tony Wood, Alex Brison, and Kyle Negangard.

Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll Call – all present

Motion was made to waive the reading and adopt the pre-read minutes. David 1^st, Holley 2^nd

3 - ayes

Old Business:

Retroactive to September 1, 2017: Quotes were received for a dump trailer: Miller Equipment $9,995 and Smith Trailers & Equipment for $6695. Motion to approve the purchase of a Sure T Dump Trailer from Smith Trailers and Equipment for $6695. Holley 1^st, David 2^nd
3 – ayes

223 N. Elm – has not went up on tax sale, but the owner’s bankruptcy attorney has contacted Lynn and they are discussing different options.

Carl Mullikin – Ripley County Board of Zoning Appeals granted him a 90 day extension at their August 29^th meeting to install a fence and to have operable vehicles only in the back lot.

David Mullikin – Ripley County Board of Zoning Appeals did not address the deadline for his property violations.

Inter Community Medical Center – was given the name of Jason Smith to set on their board. Also, Council will ask Jenny Curry if she would be interested and possibly another person.

240 W. Wilson Street – still awaiting the second appraisal from Larry Colson.

City of Lawrenceburg – public sale was held and all equipment was sold. Clerk-Treasurer was advised to issue checks to the City of Lawrenceburg and the Napoleon State Bank for their portions.

Unsafe Building Ordinance – Lynn has prepared a job description and asked Council to review it. Steve asked if a Zoning Inspector could be added to that. Kyle Negangard stated that he did not want to add to his work load, but the Fire Chief is also capable of finding code violations in their territory. The State does provide free training for this.

Norman Kappes opened the public hearing for the 2018 Budget. Local Road and Street is being reduced again. It was reduced by 32.5% for this year and will be reduced another 25% for the 2018 Budget. In the past two years, the budget has been reduced by $10,024. Next public hearing will be held on October 17, 2017 at 7:00 P.M. No one had questions, hearing closed.

Lynn introduced two new ordinances: Ordinance 2017-5: An Ordinance Regulating the Animals Kept in the Town of Osgood and Ordinance 2017-6: An Ordinance Regulating the Raising of Chickens in Town Limits.

2017-5: It shall be unlawful for any person to keep any domestic farm animal other than cats, dogs, or chickens within the municipal limits of the town. It shall be unlawful for anyone to own, harbor or permit at large any animal which is now or historically has been found wild in the United States. This includes, but not limited to deer, skunk, opossum, raccoon, mink, armadillo, coyote, squirrel, fox or wolf. These do not apply to service animals. It is the duty of every owner, possessor or custodian of any animal in his custody to ensure that the animal is kept under control and that reasonable care and precaution are taken to prevent that animal from leaving while unattended the real property limits of its owner, possessor or custodian and that it is on a lead or leash and within voice or sight control of a competent person any time it is not restrained while on the owner’s property. It shall be unlawful for the owner or person in charge or control of any animal or for any person which has the authority or power to prevent the same, to suffer or permit any such animal to become a nuisance. Excessive, continuous or untimely barking, yelping, howling, crying or other distressing loud or unusual noise, molesting passerby, chasing vehicles, habitually attacking other domestic animals, trespassing upon school ground or upon private property in such a manner as to damage property, shall be deemed a nuisance. A person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be liable for all reasonable and customary expenses incurred by the Town resulting from the violation, including but not limited to reimbursement for food, board, euthanasia, or disposal of the animal, in addition to any penalties set forth. A person who violated this chapter may be fined up to $1,000 for each offense. A separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day that a violation occurs or continues.

2017-6: It shall be permissible for a property owner to maintain up to 12 female chickens for his or her private, personal use; provided that, the property owner remains in strict compliance with the terms of this section at all times. All individuals keeping chickens shall: (1) not keep any male chickens or roosters; (2)operate in such a manner so as to not constitute a public nuisance or disturb neighboring residents due to noise , odor or damage; (3) comply with any and all federal, state and local laws governing the proper treatment of animals; (4) operate in a manner so as to not pose a threat to public health; (5) comply with any and all federal, state and local laws governing the proper treatment of animals; (6)keep all chickens completely and securely enclosed and under the control of the individual on the individual’s property at all times; (7) provide a chicken coop and attached chicken run that are clean, dry and odor-free; (8) provide a chicken coop that affords shelter from the elements; (9) provide a chicken coop and attached chicken run that, combines, provide adequate ventilation and adequate sun and shade and that are both impermeable to rodents, wild birds and predators, including dogs; (10) provide chickens with access to feed and clean water at all times, suck feed and water shall be unavailable to rodents, wild birds and predators; (11) provide adequate safeguards to prevent unauthorized access to the chickens by members of the public; and (12) keep the chicken coop, chicken run and surrounding area free from trash and accumulated droppings. The individual shall dispose of chicken waste and uneaten feed in a timely manner and in accordance with this code of ordinances. Standards for chicken runs and coops shall: (1)provide a sight fence or shrub screening of at least four feet in height around both coop and run if visible to occupants of neighboring lots; (2)be located at least 20 feet from any building not owned or occupied by the individual, that is used or capable of being used for human habitation; (3) be located at least 12 feet from the property line of any neighboring lot; (4) provide at least four square feet per chicken in the coop and 12 square foot per chicken in the run; and (5) all chicken coops and chicken runs shall comply with the requirements for accessory structures outlined in this code of ordinances, as the same may be hereafter amended or replaced. Whoever violates any section of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished with a minimum fine of $10 for the first violation, $25 for the second violation within a three-month period and $100 for the third violation within a six-month period, and a maximum fine of $250 and cost, with each day that the violation continues being a separate offense which shall subject the violator to a separate fine.

Discussion began on properties located in the town’s limits that are already zoned agricultural. Lynn will look at adding language to include existing agriculture. Also, the town does not have an ordinance limiting the number of dogs/cats, but the county does. Council would like to consider, while reviewing these ordinances, to include a limit on the number of dogs/cats a resident can have. Ordinance 2017-5 and Ordinance 2017-6 were table until after further review.

South Buckeye Street Project Claims:

Johannigman Excavating Inc. – Pay Estimate #1: $101,572.98 with retainage of $5,345.95
Commonwealth Engineers –Construction and Commissioning: $3,545.36
Westfield Lighting – anchor bolts: $102.50

Motion was made to approve Johannigman, Commonwealth, and Westfield Lighting claims contingent upon Reynolds Foundation approval. Holley 1^st, David 2^nd

3 – ayes

Harmony Housing LLC on behalf of Buckeye Village, has written a letter informing the Town of their intention to apply for funding to renovate the Buckeye Village Apartments located at 830 S. Buckeye Street. Those apartments were built in the mid 1980’s and are in need of some updates. They hope to achieve new energy efficient appliances, HVAC units and lighting, new finishes (cabinetry and flooring) throughout as well as a new roof and some additional parking. Buckeye Village is applying for an AHP grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, as well as a HOME Investment Partnership Grant from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.

Police Department interviews that were scheduled for September 20^th at 6:00 P.M. have been cancelled. Due to extenuating circumstances, Council will reopen the application process.

Retroactive to August 28^th: Motion to hire Roy Chase Gunter as a part-time student employee. Holley 1^st, David 2^nd

3 – ayes

Motion to approve Jac-Cen-Del’s After Prom request to be at the stoplight on Saturday, October 28^th from 8:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. Holley 1^st, David 2^nd

3 – ayes

Wastewater Department - Tony Wood stated that all the pre-treatment schedules have been met. All onsite testing has been done. These will be compiled on the final report. NPDES permit is due for renewal by January 1, 2018. He would like to look at the data and try to get frequency of the testing reduced, along with certain parameters. If this request if favorable, the Town will save money. The land application date has been set and overall it’s been a good year. Lab certification have been completed and passed, as well as the Town of Napoleon’s.

Water Department – Nick Buchanan stated that they installed a new tap on County Road 25 E. They are finished cleaning right-of-ways and are working with the GIS. An old tap has been removed and clarifiers cleaned. He has been shopping for the best chemical rates and gave Council a breakdown of the cost from three companies. Chemical Inc. was the lowest, however we will still need to get our Brennfloc from Brenntag. On August 23^rd, they cut the Brennfloc usage down, which could save $38,000 per year, if it keeps up. If we switch to Chemical Inc. we would save even more money.

Street Department – Steve Wilhoit stated that we had a meeting with Rumpke that went well. Changes are being made to improve communication issues. He has found a company that sells bags for couches, chairs, and mattresses. He would like to order some of these to try and help Rumpke with the bed bug issue. He would like to have them available at the town hall for people to purchase if they need a large bag to cover the larger items for heavy trash. We will continue to try and get the information out to the residents, flyers will be handed out at Bricktoberfest.

Bricktoberfest is schedule for Saturday, September 23, 2017 from 11:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M.

Gas Department – Steve Wilhoit stated that USDI will be coming in to do 4 new taps and to remove some old ones for demolition. This will be the last time they come in for this year. Steve has asked Lynn to look at changing the Town’s Gas Ordinance to state that if taps are done when USDI is here, they will be free, but a meter has to be installed. If an emergency tap is required, where USDI would make a special trip in, there would be a charge because we would have to pay traveling expenses. Steve and Nick will be attending an 811 seminar at the end of October.

Tony Wood stated that there is grant funding available for an 811 sign that he would like to put on the EQ tank at the Wastewater Plant. He also stated that at one of his seminars, he won a PH meter, which he gave to the water department so they would not need to purchase one.

Steve Wilhoit requested Council’s blessing to apply for a grant to fund the purchase of a brush hog attachment for the Bobcat. They have received a quote of $6,900.

Motion was made to approve the application to pursue grant funding for the brush hog attachment. Holley 1^st, David 2^nd

3 – ayes

Police Department – Will Wallace has noticed a drop in Ordinance violations. Most people are taking care of the issues as he is stopping to discuss it with them. An Ordinance Hearing was held September 5^th with Dana Row and John Owens. Mr. Owens’ violation was dismissed due to all the confusing with Rumpke. In the past two weeks, Glock Certified Armor came and recertified the pistols. He received a call of illegal dumping of shrubs and limbs in the Fairground dumpster. A state citation was issued, but asked Lynn if the Town should consider creating an ordinance for this. Council instructed Lynn to work on this.

Fire Department – Kyle Negangard gave the monthly statistical report: 16 first response runs, 2 fire, and 1 mutual aid fire. They are still having manpower issues and addressing how to get temporary help. October 20^th at 11:00 A.M. is their annual Pork Chop Dinner.

Motion was made to adjourn the meeting. Holley 1^st, David 2^nd

3 – ayes

Claims Signed

Osgood Town Hall	Osgood Street Utilities	Osgood Water Plant	Ripley Co. Sheriff
Monday - Friday	Monday - Friday		24/7/365
8:30 am - 12:00 pm	7:30 am - 11:30 am	812-689-4324	Emergencies - 911
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm	12:00 pm - 4:00 pm		Non Emergencies:
812-689-4240	812-689-3839		812-689-5555
After 4 PM Leave Message	After 4 PM Leave Message		Street Department will be Dispatched Out

Osgood Utilities can now be reached 24-7-365, after hours and weekends for gas leaks, water leaks, sewer backups, etc. Simply call 812-689-0178 for a live dispatcher to get the service you need.