Cloverdale Building Inspector Cassida to retire next week

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale Town Council announced Building Inspector Mark Cassida’s retirement, set to be official Aug. 18, at its regular meeting on Tuesday.

Cassida, the inspector for 24 years, said he would be willing to provide consulting services to the town after retirement.

“He will be sadly missed,” Clerk-Treasurer Cheryl Galloway said.

The council approved Town Manager Wayne Galloway’s serving as building inspector until another can be hired.

In other developments:

-- Arby’s: Town Manager Galloway reported that Arby’s has plans to rebuild, but no dates have been set.

-- Claims: The council approved claims at a total of $729,126.53, an increase from last month of $488,313.38 and of $290,429.49 from the year’s average.

Clerk-Treasurer Galloway explained the large increase from this month to last with a bi-annual bond payment of $14,151.71 for the Redevelopment Commission; a $17,723.35 Visa transfer from residents’ use of credit cards to pay their utility bills; a $8,475 refund for a Doe Creek property demolition; a $40,000 payment to Barnes and Thornburg, legal bond counsel; a $10,000 payment to Lou Britton, attorney used by the Redevelopment Commission in the Stardust Road Project; a $182,493.51 reimbursement to the rainy day fund after it was used to pay engineers for the Stardust Road Project; a $30,000 payment to London Witte, financial advisors in the Stardust Road Project; and a final payment of $12,705 to Midwestern Engineers of the Stardust Road Project.

Claims so far this year have totaled $3.1 million. The largest claim was this month, while the average claim is $438,697.04. The average claim has been steadily increasing by $47,541.83 on average. The difference between the average claim and the month’s total is $128,113.37 on average.

-- Fire department roof: Town Manager Galloway reported that bids for repairs to the Cloverdale Township Volunteer Fire Department roof are due next week. He said there may be as many as eight.

-- Town insurance: The council approved renewing insurance with HBG Insurance at a cost increase of $1,900 from last year. The increase was to cover some buildings that were under-insured last year.

-- Town Hall signage: The council approved purchasing an electronic sign for the Cloverdale Town Hall at a cost of $5,805. The council plans to use the sign for posting meetings information. About $7,000 left over from repairing the town hall roof, originally budgeted at $30,000, will be used for the purchase. Cost estimates had ranged from $6,000 - $17,000.

The Cloverdale Town Council’s next regular meeting is set for Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Cloverdale Town Hall.