Police car repairs draw questions

The Bainbridge Town Council learned that almost $600 was spent on repairing an old town police car during its recent monthly meeting.

Town marshal Rodney Fenwick explained to the council that he took the car into the mechanic to tell him what was wrong with the vehicle and ask how much it was going to cost.

Before consulting Fenwick on the repair, the mechanic fixed the problem, which was fuel getting into a sensor.

Council President Mike Smith reminded Fenwick that council had said it would go on a base-to-base need for repairs on the old car. "We weren't even notified it was done," Smith said in reference to the repair.

Fenwick said he would park the vehicle if any future problems came up, and he would wait for the council's approval before taking it in for repairs.

Fenwick also informed the council that he was working on rewriting the town dog ordinance to better fit the town's needs. The town had been using a state code on dogs for many years, but the state changed the wording in the code this year, and did not notify anyone.

The town has no ordinance on dog issues unless physical damage is done. As of now, the town only has one complaint against a dog that does not stay on the property and chases residents. The owners have been ticketed on three separate occasions.

The council later discussed the set hours for trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Fenwick asked the council if it wanted to change the hours from what they were last year. Council member Richard Cope said that the two-hour limit was fine, but he wondered what the daylight situation was going to be. Fenwick said with it getting late in the year, it is either going to be dark at 6 p.m. or getting close to dark.

Fenwick said that he and his department will be out in full force, patrolling the area. Council member Naomi Barker asked if Fenwick would shut down a haunted house operated by a town resident at 8 p.m. Fenwick said that he informed the resident he could shut down when he wanted.

The council approved the trick-or-treating hours, and asked the residents that trick-or-treating to be done between the hours of 6-8 p.m.

In other business, the council:

* Warned about the newly paved roads and how slick they were going to be in the winter.

* Approved the park board's recommendation to use Hannum, Wagle, and Cline Engineering for a park five-year master planning grant, through Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA). The next step is to negotiate a contract with the engineering firm and approve it through OCRA.

* Learned that heavy plywood will be used at the backboards on the basketball court until later funds can be raised and if both the council and park board sees enough use of the court.

* Learned that Church Street quick-claim deed is done, but Town Clerk/ Treasurer Jason Hartman is waiting on the deed to be recorded and to receive the paperwork.

* Learned from Hartman that estimates for a squash pipe for the park water drainage project would be $27,436 for a galvanized pipe and $15,000 for a poly pipe. Smith said he is open to the idea of using open drainage. The council asked Utility Supt. Jim Nelson to dig the open drainage system when his schedule allowed.

* Learned from Park Board President Jamie Tennis that the lower half of the welcome sign on U.S. 36 was damaged. The sign was donated by Indiana Municipal Power Association, the company the town purchases its electricity from. Nelson will see about getting a new one if the current one is beyond repair.

* Learned that town code book was still being worked on.

* Planned for Hartman, Nelson and Fenwick to meet with Laurie Robert-son-Hardwick to go over the employee handbook, and then later bring their revisions to the council. Hartman said the employee handbook is a pretty good starting document.

The next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in the community center. This meeting is open to the public.