ETNA GREEN — The Etna Green Town Council and residents discussed the aftermath of the Bourbon tornado and power restoration following the storm during a meeting Tuesday.
Etna Township Fire Department Chief Kevin Smith II said the department assisted Bourbon with recovery efforts, including search and rescue, after an EF-1 tornado entered Bourbon during the night of April 2.
The tornado resulted in Etna Green losing power for almost two full days, with power being restored to the town during the afternoon of April 4.
Smith asked the council about possibly replacing the tornado siren at ETFD, stating it's over 40 years old and someone has to go to the department during the storm and manually push a button to run it.
"If there is a tornado, that is not a safe place to go at all, and we're putting people in harm's way," said Smith. "I just want to make sure we have a good working siren for everybody."
He said it would cost around $40,000 for a new siren, which would reach a four-mile radius and be set off by Kosciusko 911 Dispatch.
Council asked if the Etna Township trustee would be able to assist in getting grants to purchase a new siren. Smith said he spoke with the trustee and was told grants were possible, but noted the trustee does not want the new siren at the fire station.
Smith and the council agreed to continue conversations with the trustee on getting a new siren, with it possibly being placed just outside of town if the fire station is not a viable option.
With storm recovery efforts, town employee Richard McManis thanked Council President Heath Roberts for assisting him and an Indiana Municipal Power Agency representative all day April 4. However, Roberts and Councilman Keith Claassen had a disagreement on McManis' response time to the outage.
Claassen said he contacted McManis around 11:30 p.m. April 2 about the power outage to run the lines and call IMPA. He said he didn't hear from McManis and that he called IMPA around 6:30 a.m. April 3. In that call, Claassen was told McManis had just contacted them.
Roberts told Claassen he was the one who told McManis not to go out and investigate until Thursday morning, April 3. He said he and McManis were in contact with each other the whole time during the overnight outage.
"(IMPA General Manager) Mike Adams told me that Wednesday night, Thursday morning was a slow time for them and that they would've been up here at midnight to start working on things," said Claassen.
"The power supply where we pick up from in Bourbon was ripped down, and there was nothing that IMPA could've done Wednesday night," said Roberts. "I didn't see any reason to put other people in danger as far as to call IMPA in and to sit up here at night. Our power over there was not turned back on until 2 o'clock Friday afternoon. So between Thursday and Friday, IMPA was here and we went over all the lines. Richard went over the lines. Everything was taken care of and we had to sit and wait for NIPSCO."
Claassen said one of the first things that needed to be done was to immediately contact IMPA about the outage, stating that was part of the town's service agreement with them.
Roberts said there were multiple tornadoes going through Indiana at the time, and told Claassen he decided not to put others' lives in danger and waited to contact IMPA until Thursday morning.
Several residents in attendance clapped after Roberts' statement, with others telling council the issue was not McManis' fault and that communication between council members should be worked on.
"The appropriate actions were taken before we actually received power," said McManis. "Our power system was ready for that."
Annual Sewer/Water Update
Amber Nielsen, manager with Baker Tilly, gave the council the town's annual utility report for sewer and water. In the report, she noted both sewer and water's cash balances are continuing to decrease. While the water utility's cash reserves are still above Baker Tilly's recommended amount, the sewer utility's funds will continue to decline without a rate increase.
Nielsen estimated a 15% adjustment to the sewer utility in order to break even and stay afloat, and a 55% adjustment to water, stating the water utility hadn't seen a rate increase in "quite some time." If rate increases are implemented, Nielsen said public hearings would have to occur and that increases could be put into place through phases.
Nielsen will complete additional work with Clerk-Treasurer Patti Cook and town attorney Nick Jacobs, with the topic expected to be discussed at future meetings.
Mural and Park Updates
Kosciusko County Community Coordinator Amy Roe provided a brief update on Etna Green's mural project. She said the goal is to still have the mural installation and celebration in July.
"I got word a couple days ago the (Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau) would be willing, if the town would be able to expend the funds (for the materials and the painting) and be reimbursed ... the CVB would be the applicant for a grant," said Roe.
Cook said she would have to double-check with the State Board of Accounts to make sure that's not an issue.
Roe also said she and Roberts have an upcoming meeting with Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) representatives to talk about potentially utilizing Orthopedic Industry Retention Initiative funds for the Heritage Park trail project.
A bid for trail paving work from Niblock was accepted, but placed on hold to see how the discussions with MACOG go.
Council's next meeting is at 7 p.m. May 13.