On March 18, the Board of Public Works and Safety for the City of Rushville held its regularly scheduled meeting. Mayor Pavey called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Gary Cameron, Brad Berkemeier, Phil King, and Maria Bridges were in attendance. City Attorney Julie Newhouse was also present.

DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS

Street

Commissioner Land reported the department has begun collecting yard waste weekly. He will also meet with the Army Corps of Engineers next week about the levy and with INDOT regarding park trails.

Park

Director Shaw reported that HYC cleaned up Riverside Park on Thursday. The department plans to continue using their services.

The Easter egg hunt is scheduled for March 30, and preparations are underway for the eclipse on April 8.

Arrangements are being made for the pool opening, and Jensen Smith has been hired as the manager. Shaw requested to hire Diamond Snow as the assistant manager at a wage rate of $14.00 per hour. Berkemeier proposed hiring Snow as the assistant manager, and Bridges seconded the motion. The motion carried. Shaw also reported that Greensburg YMCA has agreed to conduct the lifeguard certification course.

Shaw shared Kathi Jackley has been doing an excellent job with the park programs. Last week, 21 toddlers attended Tot Time.

Police 

Chief Tucker has reported that he is currently working with the EMA office to plan for the upcoming eclipse.

The department is partnering with the hospital to organize the Crisis Intervention Program from April 15 to 19. This program aims to assist individuals who are struggling with mental illness. 

Animal

Director Hanna has announced that their TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) Program will commence during the second week of April. They will be providing 53 vouchers for spaying and neutering, which will be made available to the public.

Furthermore, three shelter workers have successfully completed EEI training. They are scheduled to attend another training session on May 1. 

Planning/Zoning/Code Enforcement

Director Copley has sent out letters addressing code enforcement issues, and she has received many responses. People are complying, and she is pleased with the progress. In addition, she is working on a program to hire a GIS intern for the department. Meanwhile, the post office is considering possibly constructing a parking lot in the adjacent lot.

HUMAN 

RESOURCES  

Hiring Policy 

Mayor Pavey stated the need for a consistent hiring process across departments, as the police and fire departments have their own system while others have a mixed bag. A solution will be worked out with Kyla Shaver.

StreetDepartment

Land has sent an email expressing interest in purchasing a 2022 550 Chipper Truck, which has 34,000 miles and comes with a snow plow. He proposes to use $30,000 from this year’s budget to pay for the truck and finance the remaining amount of approximately $34,000 with Citizens. The financing will be done through a 1-year note at a rate of 6.4%. During the meeting, Cameron motioned to purchase the truck with financing through Citizens, which King seconded. The motion was carried, and the purchase of the truck was approved.

NEW BUSINESS

Street Department

During the meeting, Commissioner Land distributed a document that compared the cost of using the current roll-off dumpster vendor, Waste Management, and the cost of hiring a new vendor. It was discovered that Waste Management has increased their fees again. Waste Management charges a flat rate per dumpster, regardless of whether it is entirely full or only half full, whereas Caldwell’s price is based on the weight of the waste. Commissioner Land mentioned that he believed savings would be achieved by hiring Caldwell. Following the discussion, Berkemeier made a motion to approve hiring Caldwell as the new roll-off dumpster vendor, which Cameron seconded. The motion was approved.

Trash Fees

Commissioner Land reported that a recent audit of trash fees revealed an error in billing. A community member had been charged for trash pickup since December 2020, even though they were outside the service area. As a result, Land proposed reimbursing them for 39 payments at $15 each, which amounts to a total payment of $585. Berkemeier made a motion to credit the resident with a refund of $585. Cameron seconded the motion, and it was carried.

Land also discussed a gentleman who was expecting a refund from the City. He claimed that he had an additional trash toter before the implementation of a trash fee, but it has been at his neighbor’s house for some time. However, there was no proof of the toter being there. Land pointed out that if he did not have the toter, he should have informed the City since he was being charged for an extra one. Therefore, Land did not believe that the gentleman was due a refund. Berkemeier motioned not to make any adjustments in this case, which Bridges seconded. The motion carried.

Ambulance Purchase 

Chief Justice has determined an ambulance’s pricing and found one ready to be delivered from Michigan. This is the same location from which they purchased their other ambulance. Chief Justice has $100,000 in this year’s budget and would like to finance the remaining $84,897 for one year with a single annual payment. Citizens State Bank will provide financing at an interest rate of 6.4%. Cameron motioned to approve the purchase and financing with Citizens State Bank, which Berkemeier seconded. The motion carried.

Resignation  

Chief Justice has received a letter of resignation from Dillon Dunn, stating that April 3 will be his last day with the fire department. As per the claw back agreement, Dunn will owe the City 66% of his salary. Berkemeier proposed to accept the resignation, which Bridges seconded, and the motion carried. Furthermore, Bridges moved to initiate the hiring process for a firefighter/EMT position, which Berkemeier seconded, and the motion carried.

Police Department

Chief Tucker announced that the hiring process has concluded, but unfortunately, no suitable candidates were found. 

New Firefighter Sworn In

Lucas Byrd was sworn in by Mayor Pavey. Byrd comes to the department with a firefighter certificate and is currently in EMT class. His badge was pinned on by his wife, Meghan. Along with Meghan and their son Bennett were several family members.