Etna Green Considers Hiring Building Inspector

May 13, 2020 at 1:37 a.m.

By Jackie [email protected]

ETNA GREEN – The Etna Green Town Council will think about getting a building inspector and enforcing certain ordinances as discussed during its meeting Tuesday.

The topic was brought up by Councilman Jason Hanes who said he was looking for a way to bring more people into the town. He was going around town and trying to see it from an outside perspective. He said he saw several houses that had issues, such as appliances in the yard and parts of the house falling off.

Hanes said most of those houses were where the owners didn’t live in town and he wanted to know if the town could write an ordinance to have rental properties kept at the same standard as people who live in town.

Town attorney Jay Rigdon said the town’s standards have to be across the board for every house in town.

For things like mowing, Rigdon said the town already has ordinances in place for that which the town can enforce. As for things wrong with the actual building structure, the town will have to find someone to be a building inspector. It couldn’t be anyone on the board. They should have some knowledge of structures, but they don’t necessarily have to.

Rigdon also stated homeowners are subject to orders that can result in anything from fines to condemnation of the house.

In another matter, the council approved the installation of eight security cameras in Heritage Park.

During March’s meeting, Hanes brought up the issue of the cameras. He stated that over the years the town has seen many problems at the park. Some of the issues Hanes brought up were drug deals and vandalism.

“I’m ready for them to be up. We’ve already had another teeter-tooter broken since we last talked about it,” he said.

Clerk-treasurer Patti Cook said the eight cameras cost a little over $250.

The town will look into getting the pavilion at the park painted, as well as the wooden boards leading up to the caboose replaced since they’re rotting. Council President Keith Claassen said it would be a liability for the town if something happened to someone because of the boards.

The council also made a donation to the Randy Miner Memorial Country Run. The motion approved was to make the same donation as last year. Cook said she will look into how much it actually was. She thought it was $200, but the request was for $250, stating that’s what the town gave last year.

The run will be June 13. The 1-mile event will start at 4:30 p.m. with a $10 race fee and a $2 signup fee. The 4-mile event will start at 5 p.m. with a $25 race fee and a $2.50 signup fee.

According to its Facebook page, signup can be done at runsignup.com/Race/IN/etnagreen/RandyMinerMemorialCountryRun or visit etnacountryrun.com.



ETNA GREEN – The Etna Green Town Council will think about getting a building inspector and enforcing certain ordinances as discussed during its meeting Tuesday.

The topic was brought up by Councilman Jason Hanes who said he was looking for a way to bring more people into the town. He was going around town and trying to see it from an outside perspective. He said he saw several houses that had issues, such as appliances in the yard and parts of the house falling off.

Hanes said most of those houses were where the owners didn’t live in town and he wanted to know if the town could write an ordinance to have rental properties kept at the same standard as people who live in town.

Town attorney Jay Rigdon said the town’s standards have to be across the board for every house in town.

For things like mowing, Rigdon said the town already has ordinances in place for that which the town can enforce. As for things wrong with the actual building structure, the town will have to find someone to be a building inspector. It couldn’t be anyone on the board. They should have some knowledge of structures, but they don’t necessarily have to.

Rigdon also stated homeowners are subject to orders that can result in anything from fines to condemnation of the house.

In another matter, the council approved the installation of eight security cameras in Heritage Park.

During March’s meeting, Hanes brought up the issue of the cameras. He stated that over the years the town has seen many problems at the park. Some of the issues Hanes brought up were drug deals and vandalism.

“I’m ready for them to be up. We’ve already had another teeter-tooter broken since we last talked about it,” he said.

Clerk-treasurer Patti Cook said the eight cameras cost a little over $250.

The town will look into getting the pavilion at the park painted, as well as the wooden boards leading up to the caboose replaced since they’re rotting. Council President Keith Claassen said it would be a liability for the town if something happened to someone because of the boards.

The council also made a donation to the Randy Miner Memorial Country Run. The motion approved was to make the same donation as last year. Cook said she will look into how much it actually was. She thought it was $200, but the request was for $250, stating that’s what the town gave last year.

The run will be June 13. The 1-mile event will start at 4:30 p.m. with a $10 race fee and a $2 signup fee. The 4-mile event will start at 5 p.m. with a $25 race fee and a $2.50 signup fee.

According to its Facebook page, signup can be done at runsignup.com/Race/IN/etnagreen/RandyMinerMemorialCountryRun or visit etnacountryrun.com.



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