The Town Council of Winona Lake, Indiana met in a regular session on Tuesday, February 10, 2009, in the Town Hall at 6:00 p.m.

COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Joy Lohse Sue Gooding Randy Swanson

Jim Lancaster Terry Howie

ABSENT: Retha Hicks

OTHERS PRESENT: Craig Allebach Paul Schmitt Pete O’Connell

Mitch Titus Jim Walmer

Opening: Terry Howie opened the meeting with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of minutes: Motioned to accept minutes of January 27, 2009. Motion was seconded. The minutes were approved as written.

Winona Happenings: February 14 – Symphony at the Lakes, Rodeheaver at 7:30 pm.

March 12 – 14 NCCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship at Grace College

Floor Topics: Jerry Nelson raised concerns about the wastewater utility payment process. Since the last meeting an issue came up where he had a delinquent fee. Upon further research and documentation provided to the clerk he was able to get the fee waive as a payment had been applied to the wrong account. This went back a couple of years but he that there should be timelier notification.

Jerry Nelson again had concerns about the vacations at the Lawns of the Courts and wanted the town council to consider postponing the vacations.

Marvin Miller, Peachtree Lane, addressed the council about drainage issues in Country Garden Estates. He passed out a plat and the restrictions that were a part of the subdivision. Once council reviewed the documents, Jim Walmer advised him that this was a civil matter between the property owners in the subdivision and he would have to take it up with them. The town had no jurisdiction in the matter.

Swearing in of Winona Lake Reserve Officer: Police Chief Paul Schmitt introduced the new Winona Lake Police Reserve Officer, Dathan Lee Reed. Jim Walmer then swore in Dathan as a reserve officer.

Fire Territory: Terry turned things over to Jim Lancaster to talk about the hearing that took place on the Fire Territory with Warsaw and Wayne Township on February 2, 2009. Jim Lancaster stated that things had not changed from previous reports. Jim Lancaster then asked Mitch Titus what he thought about the fire territory. Mitch stated that he was not in support of a fire territory for Winona Lake. A question was raised about how this would affect mutual aid in the future. Mitch stated that as of this morning he was told that there would be no difference. Jim Lancaster stated that the fire territory had been looked into thoroughly before a decision was made. Sue commented that she appreciated the process and the opportunity to look into the fire territory before anyone came to a conclusion. Motion was made by Jim Lancaster to not enter into the fire territory. Motion seconded by Joy Lohse. The motion passed unanimously.

Ordinance 2009-1-1 Vacating an Alley – Northwest Corner at Lawns of the Courts: The ordinance was opened up for discussion. Sue felt that the ordinance should be tabled until the alley was completed and deferred to Jim Walmer as to his opinion. Jim Walmer stated that it could be tabled to make sure things were completed absent any agreement for completion. Craig stated that there was an agreement and bond in place for the improvement. Jim Walmer said that if that was the case you could go ahead with approval. Jerry Nelson stated that there was no need to be in a hurry to vacate and it could be put off until the improvements were done. Jerry stated that he would lose one of the two accesses he has to his property if this vacation were to go through. Jim Lancaster then questioned Jerry that he would still have access. Jim Lancaster made the motion for approval of the vacation. Randy Swanson seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Ordinance 2009-1-2 Vacating an Alley – Southeast Corner at Lawns of the Courts: The ordinance was introduced and Jim Lancaster made the motion for approval of the vacation. Joy Lohse seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Protection Our Water and Environmental Resources (“POWER”) Presentation: Mr. Robert Mr. Robert (Bob) McCormick gave a presentation on protecting our environment. He is the Project Leader for POWER for Indiana. He works closely with the Purdue Extension Land Use Team and the Conservation Partnership across Indiana providing education programs linking local land use with watershed or natural resource-based planning. Bob also provided various resources that the town could utilize in planning for the future. Tom Miller asked Bob about funding opportunities. Sue Gooding also asked Bob if he could advise us as to contractors who are certified and able to install pervious paving materials for our area. Bob responded that he could and pervious technologies were being utilized successfully all over the state.

West Canal Street Change Order #1: A change order was presented for a decrease in the project of $6,071.05. The original cost was set at $38,863.53. This reduction would bring the cost to $32,792.48. Motion was made by Joy Lohse approve the change order. Motion seconded by Sue Gooding. The motion passed unanimously.

Wastewater Administration Report: This report was tabled until Retha was available for presentation.

Report from Town Attorney: Jim Walmer stated that he had been working on a revision to the purchasing ordinances. Jim Walmer stated that he hasn’t looked at or updated the information on the purchasing laws for 12 years. He passed out a draft for review and comments. Jim Walmer said that the purchasing laws were confusing and he wanted to make something that could be simple and be understood. Jim Walmer also had a meeting with Pete, Larry Long and Craig and was putting together an agreement on easements for the Stonehenge Project.

Reports from Supervisors:

Pete: Pete reported that the steel plows they were looking at purchasing were not going to work. He will research some alternatives and let the council know what he comes up with.

Mitch: Mitch stated that there was a leak in the roof at the fire department. He will get some quotes.

Craig: Craig reported that there was a meeting earlier today about the future of the museum. A proposal and budget was provided at this meeting and Craig will get copies of this to the council for their comments and review.

Meeting was adjourned after signing vouchers and docket.

_________________________ ___________________________

TERRY HOWIE RETHA S. HICKS

PRESIDENT CLERK-TREASURER