Town Attorney Tammy Keirn discusses ordinances with council members during the Pierceton Town Council meeting Monday, March 11.

PIERCETON — Communication among town employees was the focus of discussion at the Pierceton Town Council meeting Monday, March 11.

Council Member Tom Barker addressed Town Marshal Tim Sammons and Town Manager Chip Hill about a police vehicle that was involved in an accident sometime in late January.

Sammons told the council that an officer with the Pierceton Police Department was assisting another agency when his police vehicle was struck. He said the vehicle is drivable but did sustain damage.

“I’m just disappointed that it took two months for the council to learn about this,” said Barker. “When we only have 10 town employees, we should have better communication.”

Sammons said the lack of communication regarding the incident was not intentional.

After some back-and-forth discussion between Sammons and Barker discussing the bigger picture with communication issues, Council Member Mandy Espinoza stepped in to comment.

“We should’ve known about this accident at last month’s meeting,” said Espinoza. “If it happened in January, it should’ve been in the February report. We need to start communicating better. All of us. If we’re not going to communicate, then we shouldn’t be in the town positions that we’re in.”

In other business, Sammons asked the council to consider updating some of its current ordinances, particularly those regarding traffic violations such as parking, speeding, and disregarding of stop signs. He also requested that town ordinances be uploaded to the town website.

“Some communities have their own ordinances for speeding,” said Sammons. “And I think we should update and be creative with some of our current ordinances.”

He said the ordinance changes would not be a full-scale job and that fines for violations would be kept at a reasonable level.

“I just want to make sure that our ordinances are in compliance and are following the legality of what the state requires,” said Sammons.

Town Attorney Tammy Keirn told Sammons she would look into the town’s current ordinances.

The council also briefly discussed acres of land available for purchase in the town. Council President Matt Brubaker said he would like the acreage to be used for more housing, but the council moved to hold the discussion for the time being and wait for more feedback from the Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation.

During the meeting, a town citizen thanked Officer Jim Bumbaugh for going above and beyond for a little girl who recently had back surgery by bringing the girl candy and helping her out.

Brad Stahl was also present at the meeting to provide a brief update on a condemned residence. The building is condemned due to the former tenants creating a methamphetamine lab there. According to Stahl, there is frozen water in the basement of the residence that needs to be removed before testing for indications of methamphetamine can begin.

The council will hold a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 21, to sign a resolution with IDEM. Its next regular meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 8.

Council President Matt Brubaker reads documents during the Pierceton Town Council meeting.