By JONATHAN SNYDER
Water, wastewater and trash pickup rates were all introduced by the Markle Town Council Wednesday.
Operations manager Mike Grant and Clerk-Treasurer Stephenie Hensley noted that the rates for water and wastewater will increase by 30% compared to the previous rate increase in January 2018 — the last time the council raised rates. The council stated that the increase is on par with other communities over the past six years.
Tap fees will also increase, but any leak adjustment fees will be removed from Markle ordinance code. The proposed rates will be heard again during Markle’s December meeting.
Additionally, council member Nicolas Lund stated that it would be prudent to look into having a rate study done every two years by Baker Tilly. Hensley noted that the town has discussed getting on a schedule, but nothing official was decided.
GFL Environmental, responsible for trash pickup in the area, also announced that their rates will increase by 3% on Dec. 1, according to their letter sent to the council.
Later, changes to the Unified Development Ordinance in Markle were approved by the council. Huntington County’s Executive Director for Community Development Kim Hostetler stated that they are removing certain divisions of land from the exemption list, forcing those divisions to be reviewed by appropriate committees. Additionally, subdivided lots where the parent lot is still 20 acres or larger can have unlimited minor subdivisions as long as each is 20 acres or more in size. Two minor subdivisions are allowed for parcels under 20 acres in size.
“We feel that if you have a large enough piece — let’s say you have 80 acres and you split it off into four 20-acre pieces, you should be able to split those 20-acre pieces again,” Hostetler said. “As it was written before this amendment … you cannot split those child parcels ever again.”
The divisions of land that will now require review include divisions of land into two or more tracts which are all at least 10 acres in size, divisions of land less than 10 acres in size per calendar year per parent parcel, and divisions of land for agricultural uses not involving new streets or easements.
Discussions on tax abatements possibilities for smaller businesses were also heard by the council.
Operations manager Mike Grant and the council discussed giving abatements for small businesses going into the downtown area. Council agreed to speak with economic development consultant Chad Kline to discuss the possibility.
Grant additionally noted that the water main replacement project on Lee and Sparks Streets is set to begin in late March or early April. Workers requested flexibility from the council to potentially start as late as July due to time constraints from other projects they will be working on over the winter. Should the project be delayed, however, they would send multiple crews to work on the site and get it done quickly.
Markle also received a letter from FEMA regarding grant money for firefighter assistance. FEMA awarded money to several fire departments within Huntington County, which Markle used for purchasing essential radio equipment. According to Grant, FEMA is requesting Markle return $24,000 of those funds due to a miscalculation in the total amount given. In a response letter, which requests that FEMA reconsider, Markle reported that “all applicable guidelines were adhered to, and the awarded funds were approved by the relevant federal grant administration bodies for this designated purpose.”
Additional discussion topics included an income survey for the town of Markle to procure grant funding for improvements to the northwest area, a community garden located outside the Markle Church of Christ, and employee salary raises. Hensley and Grant proposed a 3% increase, but council member Blake Caley warned that 3% may not be enough due to the sharp increase in cost of living throughout 2024.
The council also paid $5,700 for a new mini split air conditioning unit for their wastewater treatment lab. Grant said that the cost to replace the current wall mounted unit runs about $1,500 every two years.
“I would rather spend $5,700 for a unit that’s probably going to last 20 years than spend (money) every two years putting in a wall mount that wasn’t really designed for what we are asking it to do,” Grant said.
New body cameras from Axon Products were also purchased by the council, replacing the current systems from Digital Ally. Town Marshal John Markley reported that footage from Digital Ally’s cameras has recently gone missing due to a technical glitch. Markley reported that the plan was to move to Axon’s cameras at some point, but the glitch was the final straw for the police department.
jonathan@news-banner.com
