North Manchester Talks Comprehensive Plan
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Keri Koenig-
The plan was originally made in 2015 and is a basic summary of how North Manchester wants to continue to develop its community. A few resolutions were planning to be made under the heading “Market Street Development.” Small grammatical errors and the correcting of 9th Street were the most notable fixes needed, but an issue arose with Warvel Park being rebranded.
On page six of the plan’s document, it has been proposed that a walking trail system, outdoor exercise equipment, a rock wall, public restrooms and an amphitheater all be implemented here. This may not be possible, however, as the property has a cemetery with unclear boundaries and an important war memorial. Nearly all of the town council members were against any tampering with this area, most notably Chalmer Tobias and Laura Rager. James Smith agreed with their concerns, but did explain that any building restrictions would be uncovered with an official study of that land. The land itself would have to be examined as well as the town’s documentations of the war memorial site.
For now, it has been decided by the board to amend the plan. The war memorial will be excluded from any future building projects in the park. All town council members were in agreement that they did not want to disturb this park’s history in any way.
“This comprehensive plan is not set in stone by any means,” said Smith. The town council has the freedom to make any changes that will prove to be the most beneficial for North Manchester’s future. This issue will be carried on into the next town council meeting June 1.
The purchase of new recording equipment for the police department was approved. Dave Schoeff informed the board that since changing the phone system this has been a need that has yet to be addressed.
“The new phone system has not been compatible with the old recording system for a long time,” police chief Jeff Perry said.
The original recording system was installed in the public safety building of North Manchester 17 years ago. It was last updated eight years ago. All 911 phone calls of North Manchester are recoded, but in neighboring counties such as Wabash. The lack of proper equipment has caused many difficulties for the department when it came to accessing calls. All audio of 911 calls or police radio conversations had to be burned to a DVDs or CDs when they were needed. At times, audio would either be archived or deleted after a length of time to the department’s great inconvenience.
“It’s convoluted trying to get those recordings,” Perry told the council. The new recording system suggested by Perry is “the best we can get,” he said. This recording system is compatible with the department phones and with time it will be able to progress with new technologies.
The total cost of the new equipment amounts to nearly $23,000. This cost will be paid with assets from a cumulative capability fund that currently holds $49,000 that is meant to aid such departmental investments.
Eagle Scout Heath Dierks, North Manchester, has been working on a project with the Parks and Recreation Department He has been coordinating young volunteers and building a new fence on the south side of Harter’s Grove.[[In-content Ad]]
The plan was originally made in 2015 and is a basic summary of how North Manchester wants to continue to develop its community. A few resolutions were planning to be made under the heading “Market Street Development.” Small grammatical errors and the correcting of 9th Street were the most notable fixes needed, but an issue arose with Warvel Park being rebranded.
On page six of the plan’s document, it has been proposed that a walking trail system, outdoor exercise equipment, a rock wall, public restrooms and an amphitheater all be implemented here. This may not be possible, however, as the property has a cemetery with unclear boundaries and an important war memorial. Nearly all of the town council members were against any tampering with this area, most notably Chalmer Tobias and Laura Rager. James Smith agreed with their concerns, but did explain that any building restrictions would be uncovered with an official study of that land. The land itself would have to be examined as well as the town’s documentations of the war memorial site.
For now, it has been decided by the board to amend the plan. The war memorial will be excluded from any future building projects in the park. All town council members were in agreement that they did not want to disturb this park’s history in any way.
“This comprehensive plan is not set in stone by any means,” said Smith. The town council has the freedom to make any changes that will prove to be the most beneficial for North Manchester’s future. This issue will be carried on into the next town council meeting June 1.
The purchase of new recording equipment for the police department was approved. Dave Schoeff informed the board that since changing the phone system this has been a need that has yet to be addressed.
“The new phone system has not been compatible with the old recording system for a long time,” police chief Jeff Perry said.
The original recording system was installed in the public safety building of North Manchester 17 years ago. It was last updated eight years ago. All 911 phone calls of North Manchester are recoded, but in neighboring counties such as Wabash. The lack of proper equipment has caused many difficulties for the department when it came to accessing calls. All audio of 911 calls or police radio conversations had to be burned to a DVDs or CDs when they were needed. At times, audio would either be archived or deleted after a length of time to the department’s great inconvenience.
“It’s convoluted trying to get those recordings,” Perry told the council. The new recording system suggested by Perry is “the best we can get,” he said. This recording system is compatible with the department phones and with time it will be able to progress with new technologies.
The total cost of the new equipment amounts to nearly $23,000. This cost will be paid with assets from a cumulative capability fund that currently holds $49,000 that is meant to aid such departmental investments.
Eagle Scout Heath Dierks, North Manchester, has been working on a project with the Parks and Recreation Department He has been coordinating young volunteers and building a new fence on the south side of Harter’s Grove.[[In-content Ad]]
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