By GLEN WERLING
Members of the Ossian Town Council Monday night reorganized the council as required by law.
Josh Barkley will retain his seat as president. Brad Pursley stays on as vice president.
Barkley, Pursley, Jeff Kemper, Jason House and Dennis Ealing also agreed to serve as the Ossian Redevelopment Commission for 2022. Gene Donaghy is the appointee to the commission representing the Northern Wells Community School Board.
Kemper will serve as council liaison on the stormwater management board and the Ossian Board of Metropolitan Police Commissioners. Barkley will be the town’s representative to the Wells County Economic Development Council. House will represent the council on Ossian Fire Inc. Luann Martin will represent the town’s interests on the Wells County Chamber of Commerce.
Citizen Bill Dowty will serve as the town’s representative on both the Wells County Solid Waste Management Board and the Wells County Board of Zoning Appeals. Melissa Woodwroth will represent the town on the Wells County Area Plan Commission.
Mike Hartburg of the Huntington law firm Hartburg, Roth, Garrot, Halverstadt and Garrett will continue to serve as the town’s attorney.
Engineering Resources was retained as the town’s engineer.
In adopting a salary ordinance for 2022 Monday night, the council also agreed to keep its pay the same.
The members are paid four times a year. The president receives $1,797.87 each pay period, the vice president $1,307.07 and the council members $1,136.87.
In other business, Town Manager Luann Martin informed the council members that the new hire for the certified water supervisor had to leave at the end of December to return to California — his home state — because of family issues. He advised he would need an extended leave, so therefore he recommended that the town seek someone else to fill the position.
Martin said she is currently advertising for a replacement.
Council members also adopted two ordinances.
Ordinance 22-1-2 establishes a special fund titled the Chasey Memorial Fund.
The town was presented with $1,000 for the Angie Chasey Memorial, which is located at Archbold-Wilson Memorial Park.
The council also adopted Ordinance 22-1-3 setting up a special fund for donations the town receives earmarked for the Ossian Police Department.
Ossian Police Sgt. Stephanie Tucker also informed the council that she wished to advertise for a special appropriation in the 2022 budget to allow the department to spend the unspent funds from the 2021 budget.
There is currently a balance of $48,000 remaining in the department’s budget from 2021, but because the funds were not appropriated in the 2022 budget, a special appropriation will have to be adopted.
Tucker explained to the council members that she is seeking $1,100 for uniforms, $3,000 for ammunition, $5,000 for repairs to the 2008 and 2014 patrol vehicles, $5,900 for an upgrade to the department’s computer serve, $500 to make the interview room recordings compatible with the new department server and $15,000 for upgrades to the interview room camera system. The total amount to be appropriated will be $35,000.
The appropriation request will be presented to the council for approval at its February meeting.
The council members also approved renewing the contract with Wells County Economic Development at a cost of $10,475.30. Wells County Economic Development Executive Director Chad Kline explained that the amount is based on 10 percent of Ossian’s County Economic Development Income Tax distribution.
Kline made a presentation to the council Monday night in seeking the distribution.
Kline also requested that the council put $5,000 toward a traffic study for Ind. 1 just north of Ossian as a developer is considering the farmland bordering Ossian’s north side for a major housing development. The council members agreed to the request and agreed that the town’s portion of the money for the study should be taken out of CEDIT.
The council members also approved of a utility adjustment for $130 for a customer who had been out of town starting Dec. 14 and upon returning discovered that an outside spigot on his house had been turned on by someone and left on for the three or four days he was gone.
glenw@news-banner.com
