Resignations, projects highlight Cloverdale council meeting

Friday, August 16, 2019

CLOVERDALE -- In the first truly deferential meeting held in the past few months, the Cloverdale Town Council heard a variety of concerns during its regular session Tuesday evening.

As the first real order of business, Bob Curry of Curry & Associates opened three bids for two new generators for lift stations 1 and 2. The first came from R & M Electric in Danville with a quote of about $17,685. However, Curry said their contract did not include a consent of surety.

Curry opened a $157,157 bid from Graves Construction Services of Switz City, as well as one from Striegel Design & Construction in Medora for about $166,679. He said these two had both a consent of surety and a bid bond. He stated that he considered R & M’s bid invalid, but would take all of them under advisement.

Curry stated that the contracts would include all the elements of the construction, including installation and establishing instant power capacity.

The council then briefly heard from Clerk-Treasurer Cheryl Galloway on prospects for the town’s budget in 2020. She stated that the projected $2 million the town only hoped to receive meant it could struggle with some expenses next year. She added that the current tax base doesn’t allow for greater police support, and that it would be essential for the town to continue to apply for grants from the state to address the town’s construction needs.

During the meeting, Galloway also stated that Deputy Clerk-Treasurer Trina Baker had recently and suddenly resigned from her post. She said that her going away was a great loss for the town government. She also shared that while she had received interest in the job, applicants were unwilling to commit given the upcoming local elections and the prospect that Galloway would not remain as clerk-treasurer.

Galloway said that at this point in time, Samantha Hinman, who has been interning in the office and is a candidate for the late-large council seat, has been helping keep its work running in the wake of Baker’s absence.

In his monthly report, Town Marshal Steve Hibler provided more stress had come after a “rough month” at the Cloverdale Police Department. This comes with Billy Wallace leaving to join the Plainfield Police Department. However, he said that investigator Rick Lambert, who recently suffered a stroke, would return soon.

Hibler added he and another officer would both be certified in A.L.I.C.E., which is training preparation for dealing with high-risk situations such as an active shooting. Staff at Cloverdale Schools will physically work with CPD on this training at the end of September going into October.

Town Manager Wayne Galloway then brought a proposal to purchase a new trailer to transport town vehicles. He stated that the current trailer in use had broken a wheel and needed to be replaced. The council approved to purchase an $8,000 trailer from Liberty Industries in Fillmore, mainly because the company is local and accessible for repairs.

Galloway also spoke on where the town is with addressing the buildings on Main Street which are still in disrepair. He stated that though Kim Fidler has continued to communicate with the town on fixing her building, a structural engineer would be needed before more action could be taken.

As for the other buildings, Town Attorney Daniel Hofmann said the town was ready to cite those property owners for ordinance violations. He said that this was only a start to the process of compelling them to make repairs, but emphasized that the responsibility still lies with the owners.

Galloway also presented a quote for costs to repair the train depot. It totaled approximately $38,605, and would be comprehensive to restore the depot as a historic building. Galloway attached the quote with the Putnam County Public Library now being interested in using the building as a location for distributing books.

In new business with two new ordinances on the table, the council approved Ordinance 2019-6, which, per state requirements, sets up procedures to address potential conflicts of interest which could involve Wayne Galloway as the town’s building inspector.

However, the council tabled Ordinance 2019-7, which is aimed at revising the salary ordinance in light of both Baker’s resignation as well as the Wallace’s move. This was because of confusion as to whether it conflicted with a previously-passed ordinance similarly addressing salaries.

Cheryl Galloway also spoke about local rumors surrounding her and her family selling their home in town. She said that she had no intentions of leaving her post or Cloverdale in general, and that her family was simply “downsizing” with properties they have.

The next regular meeting of the Cloverdale Town Council is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Cloverdale Town Hall.

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  • Oh lord. So Galloway pats herself on the back. Someone is oncerned galloway wouldn't remain clerk treasurer? Who cares. A job is a job. Now rumors about them selling property. Not the place to bring up rumors. Keep it to yourself. Conflict of interest? Ya think?

    -- Posted by canttakeitanymore on Sat, Aug 17, 2019, at 10:06 AM
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