At the Monday, Dec. 13, Pierceton Town Council meeting at the Pierceton Community Building are from left: Council President Tom Barker, Vice President Matt Brubaker and Member Mandy Espinoza. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

PIERCETON — Pierceton residents could pay higher bills for garbage collection and utilities soon.

At its meeting on Monday, Dec. 13, the Pierceton Town Council took an initial look at ordinances that would raise the rates of various town services in response to rising costs.

The ordinances haven’t been approved yet, with the council planning to have public hearings on them and possibly vote on them at its January meeting.

For garbage collection, rates would go up from $9 to $11 a month. The full proposed ordinance for that may be found here.

For sewage and water, rates would be raised over a three-year period.

Based on the first 2,000 gallons a month of usage, monthly sewage rates will go up to $16.12 in 2022, $16.44 in 2023 and $16.77 in 2024. The full proposed ordinance for that may be found here.

For water, people will pay $9.31 for the first 3,333 gallons used per month in 2022, $9.50 in 2023 and $9.69 in 2024. The full proposed ordinance may be found here.

Tax Abatements

The council also had a public hearing on and approved two tax abatements for Paragon Medical’s Pierceton location.

Its attorney Steve Snyder was present on behalf of the company, which requested the abatements related to its construction of a 34,000-square-foot building. The building “will be dedicated to 3-D printing,” according to information from the company.

The types of abatements are as follows: One real estate abatement on new construction for $8.5 million and one personal property tax abatement on items for $10.5 million.

Both are for 10 years.

During the public hearing, the only person to speak was Kosciusko Economic Development Corp. (KEDCo) CEO Alan Tio, who spoke in favor of the abatements.

“I do want to say thank you to the council for considering this request,” he said. “This project specifically is such an important development for not only Pierceton, but for our entire county and for the working sector in our region … We’ve followed the announcements and the press coverage of this specific project. It’s getting picked up around the world and people are paying attention to this development.”

Police Report

The council also heard from Town Police Chief Tim Sammons.

He told them that Officer Ryan Piper has resigned to take a job with the Warsaw Police Department.

“He had started his new job with the Warsaw Police Department on Dec. 6,” he said. “I want to wish him the best. I know that he has made the switch to better his family’s income and looking at more opportunity with some different possibilities there with the Warsaw Police Department.”

Sammons also talked about the town’s police radios. Pierceton has applied for a Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant to help pay for four in-car radios and eight portable ones.

Regardless of if the department gets the grant, its radios are to be paid for through county officials recently approving allowing area police departments to use American Rescue Plan funds for them. Sammons was to attend the Kosciusko County Commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 14, to thank them for their assistance with the radios.

In other business, the council:

• Heard various compliments on the new Christmas lights that the town’s Christmas lights committee helped obtain.
• Set the date of its year-end meeting for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 29, at the Pierceton Community Building.
• Approved its regular agreement with KEDCo for its services.