Minutes Of The February 8, 2010 Town Council Meeting
The regular meeting of the Town Council of Clear Lake, Indiana was held at the
town hall on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 7:00 pm. Present were Council Members
Bob Lewis, George Schenkel, Sue Williams and Alan Korte. Also present were Town
Manager, Bob Hull, Zoning Administrator, Bruce Snyder and Town Attorney, Neal
Blythe. There were nine citizens who signed the quest register.
President Bob Lewis called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Bob Lewis asked for a motion to approve the minutes as presented. The motion was
made by Alan Korte to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Sue Williams,
all in favor and the motion passed.
Financial reports were given by the Clerk-Treasurer for the month of January
stating the beginning and ending balances for cash and investments, receipts and
disbursements for the General Fund, Garbage Fund and Sewer Fund. This report is
attached to the minutes.
Vouchers for the month of January were as follows for the following funds:
General Fund $24,917.55
Garbage Fund
5,294.26
Sewer Fund
16,326.61
Total Amount of Vouchers $46,538.42
Warrants to be approved totaled $13,989.63
A motion was made by George Schenkel to approve the Financial Report, vouchers,
and warrants to be paid, seconded by Sue Williams, all in favor and the motion
passed.
REPORTS:
MARSHAL’S AND FIRE DEPARTMENT: George Schenkel reported for the Marshal that it
is a quiet time of year with few residents here for the winter, but he has put a
few hundred miles on the police car patrolling in the evenings, late night and
early mornings.
There were: 1 unsecured premise
2 assist for the county
1 suspicious vehicle complaint
1 VIN check
1 trespassing/parking complaint
The new police vehicle has been assigned a VIN number and should be shipped from
Texas soon.
The Marshal and Deputies have been using the Sheriff’s department car for
patrolling at night when the roads are bad.
George also reported for the Fremont Fire Department that they had 33 calls for
the month of January with two for Clear Lake Township and one for the Town of
Clear Lake.
ZONING ADMINISTRATOR:
Bruce Snyder reported for the month of January there were no Improvement
Location Permits issued. There was one interior remodeling project reviewed and
determined that no permit was required.
The Board of Zoning Appeals will be meeting on February 15th for one variance
application and one appeal of the zoning administrator’s decision denying the
issuance of an ILP. This report is attached to the minutes.
TOWN MANAGER:
Bob Hull reported that M & C Trenching employees spent the month rebuilding more
pumps. The computer that was to be used for tracking the pumps needed some
maintenance, so Laura Farquhar spent 21 hours at home hours getting it to work
again.
Bob also reported a busy month plowing. He replaced the cutter bars and the wear
shoes on the plow and spent a lot of time on the spreader replacing the sprocket
on the clutch, rebuilt the carburetor and worked on the web.
Being on the committee for the Steuben County Economic Development Corporation,
Bob has been involved with their strategic plan for the county. The Corporation
is down to the final phase with the consultants and is ready to fund the
project. They are asking the Town of Clear Lake to fund $380 of the $52,500
cost. This report is attached to the minutes.
President, Bob Lewis asked for a motion from the Council to approve an
appropriation of $380 to the Steuben County Development Corp for the Town’s
share of the of the cost for the consultants for the county strategic plan.
George Schenkel made the motion to approve the appropriation of $380 to the
Steuben County Development Corp, Alan Korte seconded and the motion passed.
BILLING CLERK:
The billing clerk went to small claims court on January 19th for two small
claims on garbage accounts and neither party appeared. One property owner
refused the certified letter, so the town has filed again and it will be served
by the Sherriff’s Department. There will be a follow up on the second small
claim.
Two liens have been filed for sewer non-payments.
Laura requests that any changes to the Clear Lake Directory be provided to her
by the end of February so that changes can be made for the new directory before
going to press.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
LITIGATION:
Neal Blythe reported that six certified letters have gone out to four property
owners giving them notice for not connecting to the town sewer system.
The surveys that Judge Wheat had ordered be provided by the Hoagland Family
Limited Partnership for the case of imminent domain over the sewer were not what
he had requested and he has given Hoagland another 30 days to comply. There will
be a status hearing on March 5th and trial going forward.
Judge Brown in Lagrange has not made a ruling on the deck case stating that the
size of the file is overwhelming.
The fence case decision of the Zoning Administrator along with the deck case
should be disposed of by fall of this year.
The phosphate ordinance was rejected by the state chemist because he thought
that education should be the route the town should take. The town is at an
impasse regarding the phosphate ordinance.
Neal is looking into the requirements of having the council seats staggered.
Bob Lewis along with Bob Hull are looking through the old ordinances to see
which ones can be eliminated before the town has the ordinances codified again.
The UDO will be a “stand along” ordinance.
Bob Lewis read a letter from the Clear Lake Land Conversancy thanking the town
for the donation made in Bob Troll’s memory. It is greatly appreciated and will
be put to good use.
NEW BUSINESS:
ORDINANCE 2010-01: 2ND READING – AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CLEAR LAKE ORDINANCE
2009-08.
Bob Lewis read the summary for Ordinance 2010-01. Alan Korte made a motion to
suspend the rules and read by title only, seconded by Sue Williams and the
motion passed.
A motion was made by George Schenkel to close the business meeting and open the
public meeting for discussion on Ordinance 2010-01, seconded by Sue Williams,
all in favor and the motion passed.
Bob Lewis asked for comments from the attendees on Ordinance 2010-01, there
being none he asked for a motion to close the public meeting and open the
business meeting. A motion was made by Alan Korte to close the public meeting
and open the business meeting, seconded by George Schenkel, all in favor and the
motion passed.
Bob Lewis asked for a motion to accept Ordinance 2010-01 on the second reading.
A motion was made by Sue Williams to accept Ordinance 2010-01 on the second
reading, seconded by George Schenkel, all in favor and the motion passed.
ORDINANCE 2010-01: 3RD READING – AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CLEAR LAKE ORDINANCE
2009-08.
Bob Lewis read Ordinance 2010-01 by summary only and asked for a motion to
accept on the 3rd reading. A motion was made by George Schenkel to accept
Ordinance 2010-01 on the 3rd reading, seconded by Alan Korte, all in favor and
the motion passed.
ORDINANCE 2010-02: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CLEAR LAKE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT
ORDINANCE.
Bob Lewis stated that Ordinance 2010-02 is a certification of text amendments to
the Unified Development Ordinance proposed by the Plan Commission at their
regular meeting on February 1st and certified with a favorable recommendation
for adoption to the Town Council to create an administrative subdivision
process.
Bob then read the Ordinance in its entirety and asked for a motion to accept
Ordinance 2010-02. A motion was made by George Schenkel to accept the amendment
to the UDO to create an administrative subdivision process, seconded by Sue
Williams, all in favor and the motion passed.
THE WATER QUALITY COMMITTEE: Annie Skinner reported that the consultants are
still in the feasibility phase of the water shed program. It was noted that
diagnostic studies should have been done first. Lots of little things to work
on, but much progress is being made. Ditches and culverts that need repair have
been brought to the attention of the County Surveyor. The $100,000 LARE grant
that needs a 25% match has the possibility of being funded by outside
organizations. The committee continues to have meetings with farmers with as
many as 17 farmers in attendance. There is the possibility of one farmer’s
property being used for a two-stage ditch.
CLEAR LAKE HERITAGE: Bonnie Brown reported that the book has gone to the
publisher with delivery date of May 20th. They have ordered 1,000 books for the
initial order. Order forms are available on the Town web site and the Town Hall.
Historical calendars are still available for $5 each and there are also a few
historical unframed watercolor maps available for $200 each.
There being no further business or comments, at 8:15 p.m. Bob Lewis asked for a
motion to adjourn the meeting. A motion was made by George Schenkel, seconded by
Alan Korte, all in favor and the meeting was adjourned.
Robert E. Lewis, Council President
Kay A. Kummer, Clerk-Treasurer
Comments from the Attendees:
Bruce Spangler praised Annie Skinner for all of her hard work on the water
quality committee.
Bob Lewis stated that the surveys have been received for the park lands that are
to be transferred to the conservancy.
Jerry McArdle asked about the increase in fees for planning and zoning. Bob
Lewis stated that the Town of Clear Lake has been lagging behind the other towns
in Steuben County and our fees needed to be increased to help cover some of the
town’s expenses.