Fillmore discusses utilities, tax abatement

FILLMORE -- During its monthly meeting on Thursday, the Fillmore Town Council heard input regarding several up-keeping issues that are ongoing.

Town Maintenance Director Joe Cash informed the council that Fillmore’s sewer system was on the verge of needing an update as soon as possible.

“The parts on the shelf are all that we have,” Cash said, adding that those same parts are essentially outdated or obsolete. This would require the council to seek more outside help.

He also provided that a new sewer meter had been installed, and that the council should focus on finding a grant that would cover some of the cost to update the system, with money already stretched due to other projects.

The council also heard a request to continue an existing tax abatement for Liberty Industries Inc. Kristin Clary, executive director of the Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center, introduced a resolution approving the abatement.

Before the resolution was approved, town attorney Jeffrey Boggess pointed out that the company’s payroll had not met expectations.

He said that the company had fulfilled about 69 percent of its promises, which he compared to being a “D” in college.

Clary provided that Liberty Industries had been struggling with keeping up its workforce, and acknowledged that the company would have to do more to meet its payroll demand.

The council approved the abatement with the understanding that Liberty Industries would continue to address upping its workforce as it continued to expand.

In other business, the council was informed that Kieser Consulting was currently working on the town’s Community Crossings application to repave some of its roads.

It was also informed that needed cleanup at 404 N. Main St. had begun, and that cleanup at 122 N. Main St. would come soon after that.