Cloverdale Town Council approves deposit drive-thru

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale Town Council approved several improvements to the Town Hall in a 3-1 vote after a long, tense discussion.

Gary Bennington was the dissenting vote; Vice President Don Sublett was the abstention.

Some of the proposed changes were to repave the parking lot and install a storm drain, but the change that received the most discussion was the installment of a lane which would allow motorists to avoid backing up in the small parking lot.

Clerk-Treasurer Cheryl Galloway said that with the parking lot in its current state, the lot becomes heavily congested as residents drop off their utility payments of a morning, causing some close calls with a dumpster as they try to back up and out. The total cost for the project would be $49,408 and would be funded out of the rainy day, water and wastewater fund.

Bennington suggested getting rid of the deposit box entirely so residents would have to walk into the building rather than try to back out by the deposit box. Cindy Hofmann responded that they should keep the deposit box since they already have it.

Bennington, Larry Fidler and several audience members suggested moving the box to a nearby alley to eliminate the use of the parking lot. But Clerk-Treasurer Cheryl Galloway said that it would be out of range for the video cameras.

In other developments:

-- Clerk-Treasurer Galloway reported that the Plan/BZA Commission is currently taking ideas for upgrading the overall "look" of Cloverdale.

-- Cloverdale Building Inspector Mark Cassida said that he does not receive any funds from issuing stormwater, sanitary or street cut permits. He only receives funds from issuing building, demolition and signage permits. The board unanimously approved putting a public notice in The Hoosier Topics.

-- Scott Creager, of Cloverdale Utility Management and Construction, reported that they have received new E. coli testing equipment, which has been working well.

-- The board unanimously approved the Wallace Brother Construction bid to pave Lafayette Street for $56,006, provided their plans match those originally made by the town. The board tabled the idea of repaving all 19 miles of Cloverdale at a cost between $1.6 million and $1.8 million until next meeting.

In other business:

-- The board unanimously approved total April claims at $365,864.76. Gary Bennington noted that the amount was a jump of nearly $200,000 from the March total. Clerk-Treasurer Galloway said that an extra payroll, a regular police car payment and pipe lining installation accounted for the increase.

-- The board unanimously approved continued work on removing roots from sewer lines and replacing pipe liners.

-- Gary Bennington said the town should start issuing penalties to residents who violated town water flow regulations. Scott Creager of Cloverdale Utility Management and Construction said that they will be able to detect these violations as they continue work on the pipes.

-- There will be a public hearing on the Revitalization Grant June 14 at 6:45 p.m.

The next town council meeting will be May 10 at 7 p.m.