Silver Lake Moves Forward On School Demo Plans
May 14, 2020 at 2:20 a.m.
By Amanda [email protected]
The town has the deed to the old school and has taken possession of it, Council President Chad Miner said.
Silver Lake Clerk-Treasurer Tonya Conley said the town has two options to move forward with grant funding. But both options required an environmental study from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Option one is a planning grant where the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) would go into the building, do a study and provide an estimate on how much it would cost to renovate, salvage or demolish the building. OCRA would provide $40,000 for the study and $500,000 for construction.
Option two – which is what the council went with – is an OCRA grant for demolition and construction of a new building. That funding would be $310,000 for demolition and $500,000 for construction.
The difference in grant funding, along with the poor condition of the building, made option two an easy choice for the council and community members present who weighed in on the choice.
Before the meeting began Wednesday, a moment of silence was held for Phillip Shalley, who passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 73.
Miner said Shalley was the Silver Lake town’s superintendent for 17 years and served as a town councilman for eight years.
“The town owes a real debt of gratitude to Phil,” Miner said. “It’s a real loss. He was somebody who really cared about the town.”
The council also:
• Heard from Conley that the town offices will remain operating from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until the governor’s order allows government buildings to fully open in July.
Wednesday hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for the Wednesday night of the town council meeting, to which the clerk’s office will remain open later until about 6 or 6:30 p.m., she said. She also said residents may pay their bills in person because plexiglass has been installed.
• Decided that come June, water will be shut off for residents who have not paid their bill.
Conley said that she worries some residents who were already behind in their water bill could potentially get too far behind by knowing the town wouldn’t shut off their water for two months during the COVID-19 pandemic, and by the time the town will start taking action again, those residents could owe “beaucoup” money.
• Heard the water department will begin flushing hydrants next week, weather permitting.
• Heard from Silver Lake Fire Chief John Conley that he’d like to apply for a grant to get a couple shipping containers for training.
Conley also got approval to place the containers behind the fire station, if he gets them.
• Heard the Silver Lake Police Department applied for a grant to get more N95 face masks.
The next Silver Lake Town Council meeting is 7 p.m. June 10, with the location to be announced.
The town has the deed to the old school and has taken possession of it, Council President Chad Miner said.
Silver Lake Clerk-Treasurer Tonya Conley said the town has two options to move forward with grant funding. But both options required an environmental study from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Option one is a planning grant where the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) would go into the building, do a study and provide an estimate on how much it would cost to renovate, salvage or demolish the building. OCRA would provide $40,000 for the study and $500,000 for construction.
Option two – which is what the council went with – is an OCRA grant for demolition and construction of a new building. That funding would be $310,000 for demolition and $500,000 for construction.
The difference in grant funding, along with the poor condition of the building, made option two an easy choice for the council and community members present who weighed in on the choice.
Before the meeting began Wednesday, a moment of silence was held for Phillip Shalley, who passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 73.
Miner said Shalley was the Silver Lake town’s superintendent for 17 years and served as a town councilman for eight years.
“The town owes a real debt of gratitude to Phil,” Miner said. “It’s a real loss. He was somebody who really cared about the town.”
The council also:
• Heard from Conley that the town offices will remain operating from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until the governor’s order allows government buildings to fully open in July.
Wednesday hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for the Wednesday night of the town council meeting, to which the clerk’s office will remain open later until about 6 or 6:30 p.m., she said. She also said residents may pay their bills in person because plexiglass has been installed.
• Decided that come June, water will be shut off for residents who have not paid their bill.
Conley said that she worries some residents who were already behind in their water bill could potentially get too far behind by knowing the town wouldn’t shut off their water for two months during the COVID-19 pandemic, and by the time the town will start taking action again, those residents could owe “beaucoup” money.
• Heard the water department will begin flushing hydrants next week, weather permitting.
• Heard from Silver Lake Fire Chief John Conley that he’d like to apply for a grant to get a couple shipping containers for training.
Conley also got approval to place the containers behind the fire station, if he gets them.
• Heard the Silver Lake Police Department applied for a grant to get more N95 face masks.
The next Silver Lake Town Council meeting is 7 p.m. June 10, with the location to be announced.
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