Leesburg Town Attorney Nick Jacobs at the town council meeting Monday, Dec. 9. InkFreeNews photo by Lasca Randels

By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews

LEESBURG —  At the Leesburg Town Council meeting Monday, Dec. 9, town council officials unanimously voted in favor of purchasing a generator in 2025 as part of a weather preparedness plan.

The generator will service the town hall building and the old fire station. Having a generator would ensure that, in the event of a prolonged town-wide power outage, there would be a source for water, which could be used for drinking and flushing toilets and also would mean water would be available for the fire department in the event of a fire.

“I think we need to think about the citizens of town and a prolonged power outage,” said Leesburg Councilman Tom Moore. “We have, in my duration of living here some 50 years, been without power for more than 24 hours — more than one time. So where do they get water? Because first of all, your well is not going to work if you don’t have power, and if you happen to have several containers of water in storage someplace, you’re only going to get to flush that toilet so many times until it just simply won’t flush.”

Moore said the old fire station, which was constructed in 1963, has a 60 amp electrical service and will need to be upgraded in order to support a generator

Moore contacted four electric companies in Kosciusko County for generator quotes. Two of the four businesses said they no longer sell generators, one company did not respond to the request for a quote and the fourth company, Keough & Sons, submitted a quote in the amount of $23,947.28. This quote includes the generator, natural gas piping and upgrading the electrical system in the two buildings. 

“I made a few phone calls around and this price seems to be fair and equitable amongst the people that do this kind of work as well as supply the generators,” Moore said. “Remember — it’s not just a generator. It’s upgrading the (electrical) service in that building, and that alone will represent somewhere in the vicinity of $7,500 of this expense.”

Council President Mitch Rader said he is in agreement that the project is worthy of the expenditure.

Vice President Christina Archer added, “I think it’s good to have a plan. We’ve seen the effects of the storms that we had over this past year, and places around the county — many of them are struggling with just basic needs.”

“It’s just planning for the future,” Moore said. “Planning for that ‘what if’.”

In another matter, Street Commissioner Craig Charlton and Town Attorney Nick Jacobs will be working together to pursue action related to a building at 113 W. Van Buren St. where pieces of the roof have been blowing into the streets. A certified letter was sent to the owner of the property recently, requesting that the owner have the property repaired, but the letter was returned. 

Jacobs said the town has the option of pursuing the unsafe building law, in which the town, through the building commissioner, could repair the property themselves and then bill the owner for the costs or the town could have a contractor make the repairs and then bill the owner. If the owner then refused to pay the bill, the owner would be taken to court. 

In other news:

• The 2024 Christmas Candelaria will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14.
• Waste Management is now doing trash pickup in town on Thursdays.
• A monthly sanitary sewer report was provided by Derek Tenney of Tenney & Sons Inc. 
• The town has a verbal proposal with a new company for utility locates after terminating their contract with USIC. 
• Reminders: No parking on any street between 3-5 a.m. daily; No burning in town; Be mindful of what you flush.
• The next regular meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 13, 2025.