At Wednesday, May 5’s Mentone Town Council meeting are from left: Council Member Tim Croy, Town Clerk-Treasurer Nicki Norris, Council President Jill Gross, Council Member Shelly Krueger and Town Attorney Andrew Grossnickle. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

MENTONE — Mentone is working on unifying a church’s two parcels of land.

At its Wednesday, May 5, meeting, the Mentone Town Council was visited by Cal Jackson of First Baptist Church of Mentone.

He first came to the council’s April meeting asking for help with a land issue. The church owns two parcels of land near each other that it wishes to unite so it can put up a pole building.

Mentone is involved because it may have vacated an alley in between the two parcels.

Town Attorney Andrew Grossnickle said he’s communicated with the county on the issue.

“What I’m trying to figure out is if that area was actually part of that alley vacation, it would automatically be divided and to me it would already be reflected,” said Grossnickle. He said he needed to check if the town had done an ordinance if it had vacated the alley “to see if that affected that particular area.”

“Because if not, then I think the town could still sliver a piece of that off and convey it to the church if the town wanted to do that, but if that’s where it lands, then what’s going to have to happen, Mr. Jackson, is that there’s going to have to be a legal description done of that exact area that’s going to have to be conveyed,” he said.

He’s to get back with Jackson.

In other business, the council:

• Changed its June meeting from Wednesday, June 2, to Wednesday, June 9, as the first date is inconvenient for leaders’ schedules.
• Heard Town Utilities Superintendent Josh Shepherd has obtained three quotes for gutters for the town’s work shop.

They are for: $2,608 from Homeland Gutters; $2,405 from Custom Rain Control; and $3,383 from Thiry’s.

• Also heard from Shepherd that work cannot begin on a storm sewer pipe project in town until NIPSCO communicates with the town on moving a gas line in that area.
• Heard from Shepherd that the gazebo has been put up at the town’s park at Main and Morgan streets.

There’s going to be a plaque put there commemorating Albert Tucker, a well-known citizen.

• Heard from Council Member Tim Croy that the Kosciusko County Health Department has deemed three homes in town “as being unsafe instead of condemned.”

That was due to the department stating “it was easier to proceed with getting things done if it was an unsafe structure than being a condemned structure,” he said.

Those are at 405 N. Tucker St.; 406 N. Tucker St.; and 106 W. Maple St.