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Russellville council approves funding authorizations
RUSSELLVILLE – Picking up from where it left off last month with its water tower project, the Russellville Town Council authorized both a transfer of funds and signing off on a subrecipient agreement with the county Wednesday evening.
The council first authorized a wire transfer of $40,000 the town has presently received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The approval fulfills Ordinance 2022-1 passed last month, which notes that the town is set to receive $70,000 through ARPA, as well as transfer $30,000 to the State Revolving Fund (SRF) prior to closing on bonds for the project.
Clerk-Treasurer Martha Mandleco also asked the council to authorize her and Council President Cary McGaughey to sign an agreement with the county regarding its recently approved ARPA allotment of $200,000. The motion was stipulated by Brian Bullock of Beam, Longest and Neff, who has worked with the town on the engineering for the new water tower.
A subrecipient agreement is one in which at least a portion of an award given from one party is distributed to a third party by the recipient for a project. Mandleco noted that one was needed for the SRF, as it is finalizing a million-dollar forgivable loan toward the water tower.
In other business:
• Bill Spiegel read his oath of office as the council’s newest member. He was approved last month to succeed Norma Jean Gross, who recently retired.
• The council approved two tons of rock to repair “horrendous” potholes on Marion Street, as reported by a resident to Mandleco. The council agreed that using rock was easiest, with Mandleco saying that two tons would cover the length of the road.
• The council tabled a new ordinance amending wages and salaries for town officials. While the ordinance was not presented or read, Mandleco said checks would be written for payment in May.
• By consensus, the council set to move its regular meetings to the fourth Wednesday of the month beginning in May. It was noted that the change was meant to better accommodate Bullock’s schedule.
• Mandleco announced that individual water bills would be reduced by an estimated 1.4 percent. This comes as the Indiana legislature is set to do away with the state’s utility receipt tax. The tax is an excise one that has been imposed on retail consumption of utility services.
Commenting that it was “going to cost us more to notify everybody,” Mandleco said the cessation will go into effect in July, and that customers are to be notified twice beforehand.
Councilwoman Cathy Jones, Deputy Clerk-Treasurer Catherine Engle, Town Marshal Matt Biggs and Street Superintendent John Boller joined Mandleco, McGaughey and Spiegel for the meeting.
The next regular meeting of the Russellville Town Council is set for Wednesday, May 25 at 7 p.m. at the Russellville Community Center.