Roads marked in black show where upcoming roadwork in Etna Green is planned. Screenshot from Google Maps.

By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

ETNA GREEN — Etna Green Town Council approved a bid from Niblock Excavating, Bristol, for two asphalt paving projects on town roads.

During a June 14 meeting, council opened two sealed bids for the project, the second being from Phend & Brown, Milford. Paving work will take place on Spring Street from SR 19 to Elm Street, and on Pearl Street from SR 19 to High Street.

Work includes the construction and/or improvements of existing roadways, including roadway removal and replacement, surface milling/asphalt overlay, drainage improvements, linear grading, site grading, and site restoration. Also included is all paint striping, directional turn arrows, railroad crossing symbols, and a fire station warning symbol.

Council Member Jason Hanes said Niblock also did a cost estimate for the town on the projects; Phend & Brown did not.

Niblock’s bid for both paving projects totaled $105,440; Phend & Brown submitted a bid totaling $122,958.60. Etna Green will be paying for a majority of the work through a Community Crossings grant the town received in April. The grant totals $71,868.75.

Clerk-Treasurer Patti Cook provided a fund report to the council members and said the town’s budget can cover the remaining amount for both projects. Cook said she would follow up with Niblock on the town accepting their bid.

Currently, there is no start date for the paving.

In other business, Jamie Visker, owner and CEO of Winona Powder Coating, asked the town about the possibility of establishing a vacuum brake at the town’s electric plant.

“The issue we’re having is…when we’re losing power, we don’t lose power, we’re a three-phase industrial customer,” said Visker. “(Instead), we lose one phase of power or two phases of power, which then wreaks havoc on our equipment. This creates an extended downtime.”

“Our motors are single-phase…when we lose one phase of power coming in, the motor will overheat and burn itself up,” said Scott Eyink, vice-president of engineering at Winona Powder Coating. “We’ll lose three, four, five motors on our equipment and then we’re scrambling around town to get us back running. In the meantime, we lose two shifts of production.”

“If I lose power, we come back up in 30 minutes or 60 minutes,” said Visker. “If I lose a phase, you take me down for a day or more. With a vacuum brake, within milliseconds it shuts power down to our entire plant so we can’t burn up motors, we can’t lose control boards.”

Barry Baker, Etna Green’s electric/water superintendent, said an engineering study on power lines would have to be completed.

“Gas City had this exact same scenario,” said Baker. “What they ended up working out was the company itself bought their vacuum brakers and the town picked up everything else.”

Council voted to begin determining costs on an engineering study the town would complete for Winona Powder Coating.

Cook also told the council the community building at Heritage Park was broken into and vandalized on June 7.

Anyone with information on the break-in is encouraged to call the town hall at (574) 858-9321 or Kosciusko County dispatch at (574) 267-5667 option 3. Cook said a representative from Hyperwave Telephones will be installing a camera system at the building this week for surveillance purposes.

From left, are Etna Green Town Council Members Jason Hanes and Susan Klinefelter. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Shepherd.

The council also adopted the Etna Green Comprehensive Plan during the meeting. This plan is part of the Revised Countywide Comprehensive Plan initiated by county leaders, the K21 Health Foundation and the Kosciusko County Community Foundation.

On May 24, Kosciusko County Commissioners adopted the Revised Countywide Comprehensive Plan, which includes specific details for each of the participating communities.

Individual town comprehensive plans will be heard by respective towns for adoption during the month of June at each of their council meetings. According to the plan, Etna Green’s comprehensive plan was “prepared specifically for the town of Etna Green and reflects the town’s unique strengths, opportunities and challenges.”

Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission Assistant Director Matt Sandy attended Etna Green’s council meeting and described the document as a “guidance document, a living document.”

At the end of the meeting, Hanes and Council Member Susan Klinefelter discussed potentially recognizing two community members who have recently passed away. Terry Hall, who died in December 2021, bricked the exterior of Etna Green’s fire station and built the fountain in the town center. Carol Hoffer, who died in November 2020, was a lifelong resident who did a lot of landscaping and cleanup work around town and at the parks. Discussions included creating plaques or naming landmarks at Heritage Park after Hoffer and Hall. Council voted to speak with Hoffer’s and Hall’s family members further about possible recognitions.

Council also:

• Approved several utility adjustments, with the majority involving filling pools.
• Approved an election agreement with county officials to manage election work in their jurisdiction.
• Voted to sign a memorandum of understanding and an incentives policy through the Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation at their next council meeting. Greg Fitzloff, the business development partner with KEDCO, attended the council’s meeting.

The council’s next meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 12.