By JONATHAN SNYDER
The Board of Public Works and Safety discussed a potential issue involving the Bluffton Police Department shooting range on Tuesday.
The range located next to the plant is used by the police department and the Wells County Sheriff’s Department. Chief of Police Kyle Randall stated that the range is used year round and that they try to be done by 10 p.m. every night.
Randall, Utility Director Jon Oman and board members Josh Hunt and Scott Mentzer, all discussed a potential increase in noise coming from the shooting range. Oman believes that the movement of dirt and a new building being constructed as part of the wastewater treatment plant affected the acoustics of the range. Sally Haus, was scheduled to discuss the issue, but was not present at Tuesday’s meeting.
This usage rate is so that the department can get used to shooting in adverse weather conditions such as snow or rain, something Hunt was very proud of.
“It’s encouraging to know that even if it sucks to be outside … you guys are still sharpening your skills.” Hunt said.
Oman suggested that some dirt could be set up in piles around the range to help deflect the sound away from unwanted areas. While no official action was taken, the board decided the situation was worth monitoring.
There were two pay raises and two resignation requests that the board granted. Accounts Receivable Clerk Karen Shaffer of the utility office received a $1 hourly raise, while Building Department Assistant Karen Nash, who has been a full-time department employee for two years, was put to her maximum salary of $17 hourly.
Bradley Nelson, a full-time firefighter and Chelsea Dick, a part-time firefighter both resigned from the Fire Department. Nelson has had troubles with attending trainings on Wednesday nights due to commitments at the church he pastors at. In Dick’s case, the long hours of her job north of the city left little time to commit to the Fire Department. Fire Chief Don Craig stated he understood both of their situations and is willing to stay connected with them for any CPR training updates.
“It’s unfortunate, but I get it,” Mentzer said.
Additionally, the board paid $18,217.50 to renew their Office 356 subscription. Since the city performs this action through Reliance IO, a Microsoft partner, the city gets a discount on the product. Director of Information Systems Karen Morris stated that in the next renewal cycle, she will attempt to trim out anything they do not feel is necessary from the subscription.
Furthermore, the board approved an SRF claim totalling $165,217.35 to Inliner Solutions for shoring up existing eight and 10 inch sewer pipe linings for the wastewater treatment plant project. They also approved a work order directive for DLZ Corporation, which pays for them to remove the sludge from the wastewater treatment plant, revise the storm inlet so NIPSCO does not have to move any infrastructure and upgrade some manholes in the plant.
Mayor John Whicker was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.
jonathan@news-banner.com
