Several board members of the North Webster Town Council share some felicity after their Tuesday, Dec. 21, meeting. Shown are board members Dan Thystrup, front left, and David Waliczek. Back row: Board President Lisa Strombeck and Jayne Alger, project manager for the town’s utilities department. Photo by Ray Balogh.

By Ray Balogh
InkFreeNews

NORTH WEBSTER — North Webster Town Council Tuesday, Dec. 21, unanimously approved Police Chief Greg Church’s request for 250 hours overtime in the 2022 budget.

Church requested the appropriation after noting the line item was inadvertently omitted from the proposed 2022 budget previously passed by the council at its Oct. 19 meeting.

The 250-hour figure builds in a cushion for unexpected exigencies. “We’ve used about 200 hours of overtime this year,” said Church.

In his monthly report for November, Church noted his department invested 453 officer hours, 2,797 miles driven and 238.38 gallons of fuel in the personnel’s performance of their duties.

The department responded to 174 calls of service during the month, 25 of which were traffic related and 12 agency assists for fire and EMS.

Jayne Alger, project manager for Inframark Water Infrastructure operations, presented the November report for the town’s utilities department.

“We had no violations, 40 locates, we picked up leaves and are picking up branches along the way,” she said. “December 10 was going to be our last day for leaf pickup, but with the weather being like it is, we went out one day last week and have only four or five piles left.”

She said the town has been credited with a refund of $162.28 “for not spending all the maintenance cap,” and noted the department’s personnel are “just busy keeping things maintained and getting the trucks ready for the winter.”

She also reported an aerator has been installed in the Dixie sternwheel excursion boat and the department placed two orders for road salt.

There was no report from the parks department.

North Webster citizen Joe Wyrick addressed the council with a request to be nominated to serve as the fifth member of the Tippecanoe Township Fire Territory Board in 2022.

Having retired six years ago, Wyrick, 75, quipped, “I’m not looking for any extra work, but I do want to serve the community.”

The town council is tasked with appointing the fifth member for on one-year term during even-numbered years; the township advisory board makes the appointments for odd-numbered years.

Wyrick’s nomination will be taken up at the council’s end-of-the-year meeting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28, in the town hall annex office.