Waiting their turns to give reports, ask or answer questions at the Jan. 19 North Webster Town Council meeting are from the left Amanda Hare, owner A.K. Hare & Co.; Inframark Utilities Manager Jayne Alger; Police Chief Greg Church and Kosciusko County Assistant Planner and Flood Plain Administrator Matt Sandy. Photo by Martha Stoelting.

By Martha Stoelting
InkFreeNews

NORTH WEBSTER — Short and to the point was the theme of the Tuesday evening, Jan. 19, North Webster Town Council meeting.

Council passed the flood control recertification and amended the salary ordinance for 2021 at the meeting at the North Webster Community Center. The police department is still seeking a new officer while the utilities department still has a wet wipes flushing problem.

Matt Sandy, Kosciusko County assistant planner and flood plain administrator, was on hand to present the annual flood control recertification, which was approved. With its passing homeowners in town get a discount on flood insurance if it is required.

Salary Ordinance Amendment 2021-0102 was passed to include Officer Dalis Owens. During his department report, Police Chief Greg Church noted, “We are in need of another officer. Anyone interested in a career in law enforcement should apply at the police station.”

The report stated there were 175 calls of service for December 2020 with a yearly total of 2,411. Tops for the month were battery, fights and domestic disputes, followed by citizen assists and traffic-related. High for 2020 were traffic-related followed by citizen assists, battery, fights and domestic disputes.

Officers worked 667.5 hours in December driving 3,485 miles while using 304.9 gallons of fuel. Totals for 2020 were 8,550 officer hours, 43,396 miles and 3,490.8 gallons of fuel used.

The utilities department report was given by Inframark Utilities Manager Jayne Alger. Three sewage lift stations received new transformers. Lift station 2 will be pulled and inspected. It is still being clogged by wet wipes being flushed down toilets. Alger observed, “We have passed out information door to door for the wipe flushing to stop but it has not.”

Bids are being taken from three firms on paving work for 2021. The sewage plant had no violations in December.

Local beauty salon owner Amanda Hare of A.K. Hare & Co. had some questions for the council about a new sign and parking regulations for her property located at 119 N. Main St. She wants to be a good neighbor but has had some problems with adjoining businesses using her parking spaces. This affects her clients as they cannot easily access the shop. She was referred to Sandy to have her questions answered.

The next regular meeting of the town council is 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, at the North Webster Community Center, 301 N. Main St. The first public informational hearing for the proposed fire territory between Tippecanoe Township and the town of North Webster will be 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, at the Tippecanoe Township Building, 102 S. Morton St., North Webster.