Pictured, from left, Mike Searfoss, Doug Jones, Tom Moore and Larry Richey at the Leesburg town council meeting.

LEESBURG — Election of 2017 officers was the first thing on the agenda at the Leesburg town council meeting Monday, Jan. 9, with Larry Richey being elected Leesburg town council president and Tom Moore elected as vice-president for 2017. Richey and Moore both accepted their respective positions.

Brandon Queen, street commissioner, stated that Leesburg residents who have leftover leaves should not rake them into the street for pick up, as the leaf machine has been put away. Queen states that if residents bag up the leaves and set the bags out, he will pick them up.

Derek Tenney provided an update on the sanitary sewer system and stated that he needs to purchase on/off switches. The board members gave approval for Tenney to purchase the switches.

Regarding the speed limit in Leesburg, all board members are in agreement with a 25 mph speed limit, with the speed limit being the same on every street in town. They plan to pass an ordinance for this at their next meeting.

Moore produced three proposals for engineering services regarding the town hall building, which is not ADA compliant and must be compliant in order for the building to be used. Moore emphasized that these proposals only cover fees for someone to come in and write recommendations and a floor plan; it does not cover any actual labor, state fees or variance fees. There is a possibility that the building could qualify for certain exemptions due to the fact that the building is listed on the historical registry.

Moore stated they have to at least take the first step and get an evaluation done. He states he is not in favor of keeping the building closed without seeing exactly what needs to be done and finding out how much it will cost. Doug Jones agreed and said it would be a shame to let it sit vacated “for all practical purposes” and to remain unused. All members were in agreement with having the initial assessment done.

A decision was made to contact Barr Design Group out of Goshen to have the initial process started. A motion was made and approved.

Board members welcomed three residents who moved to Leesburg in July and were in attendance at the meeting. Amidst good-natured banter, Moore provided a brief history lesson for those in attendance, including the fact that Leesburg is actually the oldest incorporated town in Kosciusko County.

In other news:

• Status of the property at 113 E. Van Buren Street was discussed, including yard debris and a vehicle that has been parked in the street for some time.
• There is to be no parking on any street in Leesburg between 3-5 a.m.
• There is to be no burning in the town of Leesburg.
• Doug Jones will be checking into weekly time card reports and will provide information at the next council meeting.
• Next meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13