From left, are Etna Green Town Council Member Jason Hanes, Council Member Susan Klinefelter, and Council President Keith Claassen. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Shepherd.

By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

ETNA GREEN —The Etna Green Town Council heard updates on property annexation and a historic building in town limits during an April 12 meeting.

Property annexation in the town by Joey Slone, owner of Joey’s RV in Atwood, has been discussed since February. There are two properties in the area Slone is purchasing, one of which touches the town’s boundary. Town Attorney Nick Jacobs said a public hearing on Slone’s annexation request will take place at the council’s May meeting. Community members will have the opportunity to voice their opinions on the annexation at that hearing. Council will then vote on the petition for annexation at their June meeting.

Eric Blackwell also provided an update on the building at 111 N. Walnut St. He told council that county officials have given him until June 1 to make improvements on the building. Blackwell said he had family members assisting with renovations but that their help has “fallen by the wayside.”

Blackwell asked council if the town would be interested in purchasing the Walnut Street property.

“That’s a historic building in the town of Etna Green,” said Council Member Jason Hanes. “I don’t want to see that building gone because someone may want to do something with it. There are a lot of people here in town who enjoy Etna Green’s history.”

Hanes asked Blackwell to provide the council with his contact information so there can be further discussions on options for the building.

Council also discussed the possibility of Etna Township Volunteer Fire Department moving its fish frying equipment from one of the town buildings to the fire department building.

Fire Chief Randall Byrer said the department had requested a building add-on in the past for further storage.

Hanes said the council was willing to discuss the idea of creating a lean-to at the department for storing the fryer.

Toward the beginning of the meeting, council passed an ordinance establishing Robert’s Rules of Order for council meetings. Jacobs said the establishment of these rules is very common for municipalities. Locally, the towns of Syracuse and Leesburg have these rules in place. Robert’s Rules are a form of parliamentary procedure which governs meetings of a wide variety of organizations, including school boards and city councils.

The rules were established to allow for meeting agendas to be followed in an orderly fashion while preventing interruptions which impede matters that need addressed by council.

Council also:

• Gave $500 toward flowers and plant maintenance at Remembrance Park.
• Declared April as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Etna Green. Kosciusko County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) were present for the proclamation.
• Announced that hydrant flushing will take place from Tuesday, April 26, to Thursday, April 28.

The council’s next meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 10.