Town Council 09-21-2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

1668 Councilman Williams expressed his frustration with no plan to sustain the program. Pam Williams came before the Council to state that it is a principal problem, not a budget problem, that a canine should be put into the budget and funded. She believes the public has expressed their desire to have a canine unit. Councilman Stanley made a motion to close the public hearing, Councilman Swinney seconded. Motion carried 4-0-1 Councilman Willaims opposed. Discussion of the Purchase of Town Vehicles. Dave Moore said that the purchase of a new plow truck would be in the range of $140,000 and that the street sweeper would be close to that. Councilman Cook asked if a new sweeper was needed as there were some conflicting opinions. Mr. Moore believes a new one is warranted as it is 20 years old, the cabin fills with dust, seals broken, but the person who drives it prefers the one in use now. Mr. Moore believes the street sweeper does need to be replaced. The current plow truck needs replacing as the chemicals and salt it carries causes parts to deteriorate faster than a regular truck, although it has low. It was requested that Dave put together a prioritized list of needed equipment. Councilman Williams made a motion that the department heads put together a prioritized list of the requested equipment, specs, and prices to submit to the Council. Councilman Cook seconded. Motion carried 5-0 Council President Warthen asked Chief Julian if $20,000 is a fair and accurate amount for first year expenses on a canine. Chief Julian called down an additional officer; he called his in-house expert. The officer stated that the dog would need to be a multi -discipline dog which will affect the price of the dog and the price of the training. He noted that the canine unit has been run off of donations for the last seven years and has not gone through the Town budget. He also said that $20,000 could restart the program. Still, the money would need to be continuously budgeted to avoid the current situation from recurring with the early retirement of his dog. Chief Julian said that on his current budget, he has trimmed and that the budget he submitted is based on the revenue. Councilman Williams took a quick poll on public interest in a canine unit and believed that the the public is in favor of it. There was a discussion of how to fund a canine unit best, whether it be through rewriting the budget or doing an additional appropriation. Council President Warthen voiced his opinion that an additional appropriation would be the better option. He also asked Dave Moore and Chief Julian to work up a budget for the new vehicles. Town Attorney Lee broke down how the municipal budget process works. It can only be based on expected revenue and not budgeting off the fundable amount as it is not sustainable. The task of the Council is to submit a budget that works and will be approved by the DLGF. He suggested putting together a new ordinance to expand the budget process to the public. Light Pole on Southwest Corner of Main Street and Indiana. Dave Moore reached out to a company about moving the pole, and the company he contacted has not contacted him back. Councilman Williams motioned to obtain bids and plans for moving or re-engineering the light pole on the southwest corner of Main & Indiana. Councilman Cook seconded. Motion Carried 5-0 MPO Update, Mark Butler from Banning Engineering, gave a proposal for things that could be done for \' the school crossing situation at Carlisle and Monroe Street. He would like to get permission from the Council to submit this to the MPO as the first project and at no cost to the Town. The engineer's estimate was at $1,453,600 and the cost would be split 80/20 with a partnership between the Mooresville School, Redevelopment Commission, and the Town. The partnership agreement will only cover construction and inspection costs. Any engineering costs or property acquisition costs would be the Town's responsibility. It is estimated that the MPO would cover about $1million with the Town supplying the final $432,000. The school would also be willing to support this financially though no percentages have been discussed. Councilman Williams, CouncilmanCook, Dave Moore, Randy Taylor, Jake Allen, Jeff Banning, Virginia Perry, Clerk -Treasurer DiannaWamsley, and Joe Miller from Banning have all joined for meetings to discuss this project. The numbers from the traffic study that was conducted will be needed to complete the MPO application. The timeline for this would need to be