The Town Council of Winona Lake, Indiana met in a regular session on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 in the Town Hall at 7:00 a.m. Councilpersons noted as present or absent:

COUNCIL PRESENT: Jeff Carroll, Jerry Clevenger, Dave Delp, Joy Lohse, Rolly Ortega, and Retha Hicks

ABSENT:

OTHERS PRESENT: Craig Allebach, Pete O’Connell, Jim Walmer

Town Council President Dave Delp called the meeting to order. He opened in prayer and led the pledge of allegiance.

Minutes:

Jeff Carroll made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 13, 2007 Council Meeting. Joy Lohse seconded the motion. The motion passed.

“Winona Happenings”

December 1 – Holiday Festival in the Village at Winona

Floor Topics:

Pierceton Road Property: There is an eleven and a half acre property on Pierceton Road that will be auctioned off tomorrow. There was a question from a prospective buyer of the property regarding whether horses would be able to be on the property. That would be a zoning issue that would need to go before the Board of Zoning Appeals and/or the Plan Commission. Rolly Ortega stated that this sort of request has been denied more often than approved in the past. Craig stated that he is not aware of any approvals for this type of zoning change in recent years.

Public Hearing for Ordinance 2007-11-1 Adopting of Charges for Garbage Disposal:

This ordinance was introduced at the last meeting. Our trash pick- up contract was renewed effective July 1^st. The increase was $4.00 per unit per month. In the past, the cost of trash pick-up has been covered by property taxes, but with the increase additional money is needed to cover the service. Residents will need to pay $5.00 per month per unit. Mr. Nelson had several questions regarding the proposed ordinance. He asked how the units were being counted and if a rented room counted as a unit. Retha answered that the wastewater ordinance does not allow for rented rooms. Each rental unit would be $5.00 per month. Mr. Nelson asked if people could opt out of paying the fee for a certain amount of time. Retha stated that residents can certainly make that request to the Town Council. Mr. Nelson asked about summer residents who only use the service for part of the year. Rolly Ortega stated that it would probably be the same as sewer service. No credit is issued because the Town must continue to pay for the service whether it is being used by individual residents or not. The two can limit for trash is simply an encouragement to residents to recycle. Mr. Nelson then asked about businesses and institutions such as Grace College and Grace Village. Retha stated that the Town does not pay for trash pick-up at those places. Businesses and institutions must contract for their own service. Mr. Nelson asked if individual residents could also contract for their own service. Jim Walmer answered that it is certainly the residents right to do that, but they will still need to pay the $5.00 monthly fee. There being no more questions, the public hearing was closed. Jerry Clevenger made a motion to approve Ordinance 2007-11-1. Rolly Ortega seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Greenway Change Order:

This change order was initiated by the Indiana Department of Transportation and is a reduction in costs of $4,360.95. Joy Lohse made a motion to approve the change order. Jeff Carroll seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Reports from Supervisors:

250 East: Craig stated that work is being done on the railroad track across 250 East this week. The road is closed at that point. It should be open again by the end of the week. There are a few drainage issues on parts of the road caused by a grade change between the new road and the old road.

Leaf Pick-Up: A lot of leaves have come down in the last week. Pete stated the street department has a little catching up to do but they will be working overtime until they are caught up.

Training: Joy Lohse mentioned that the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns is providing training opportunities for new council members. Terry Howie, Jim Lancaster, Joy Lohse, and Craig Allebach will be attending a session in Fort Wayne on Thursday. Retha will be serving on a panel at the training.

The meeting was adjourned.

_________________________ ___________________________

DAVE DELP RETHA S. HICKS

PRESIDENT CLERK-TREASURER