Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
ETNA GREEN – The Etna Green Town Council approved the hiring of a clerk-treasurer and heard an update on a new tornado siren during a council meeting Tuesday.
Ann Anglin, who has been serving as chief deputy clerk for the town since the resignation of Barbara Wagoner, was hired into the position by council.
Wagoner resigned as clerk-treasurer on June 30 after being appointed to the position on May 22 by Kosciusko County Republican Party Central Committee Chairman Mike Ragan. The appointment took place after elected clerk-treasurer Patti Cook also resigned from the position.
After Wagoner's resignation, Ragan sought candidates to appoint to fill the vacancy, but no candidates came forward. Town attorney Nick Jacobs said when this occurs, it becomes the council's responsibility to find a clerk-treasurer.
"(Ragan) indicated the 30-day deadline for candidates to come forth has passed, and no one came forward to him," said Jacobs. "There are a lot of different statutes that come into play here ... if somebody was a deputy in a town office, and there's a vacancy, the deputy can step forward and they can take over the responsibilities for that office. I know there's several years left on that term from when Patti was re-elected."
Councilman Keith Claassen asked about residency and voting record requirements, aspects that come into play when a caucus is held. Jacobs said there are some statutes that allow an individual to be a clerk-treasurer even if they don't reside in the town they're serving.
With the multiple recent changes in the clerk-treasurer's office, Council President Heath Roberts said State Board of Accounts representatives would be coming in September for an evaluation.
In other business, Kosciusko County Community Coordinator Amy Roe provided the council with an update on a new tornado siren for Etna Green. The town's siren at Etna Township Fire Department is over 40 years old and requires someone going to the department during a storm to manually operate it.
Roe said the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) has identified a couple grants for replacing the siren. One is a $50,000 grant that the town would be an applicant for. Roe said Kosciusko County's Emergency Management Agency is looking into remote dispatch for the county's tornado sirens, noting Etna Green's would be ineligible for that due to the current siren's age.
As the town owns the ETFD building, and Etna Township owns the equipment inside, the town would be the responsible entity for the siren, as it would be on the building.
Council approved Roe moving forward with pursuing the grant.
Previous Meeting Minutes
Anglin presented council with previous meeting minutes from June 10 and July 8 for approval. Claassen expressed concern with the June minutes, stating the council approved implementing rate increases for the water system in four phases, and sewer in two phases.
Roberts and some residents at the meeting said that was incorrect.
"What I recall from that, and I know Baker Tilly came and gave their presentation ... based on that, the ordinances were prepared," said Jacobs. "The versions that were published for that both said, I believe, two increases for both sewer and water."
"We had never discussed making those changes during our meetings," said Claassen. "We had discussed going along with Baker Tilly, on spreading it out over two years to have it done by January 2027, rather than having it all done this year. That is what we had discussed and somehow there was an order made from somewhere to change it to two and two instead of four and two."
"I remember at the public hearing, you were talking about spreading it out beyond just two increases," said Jacobs.
"We did not vote on that," said Claassen.
InkFreeNews' article on the Etna Green June 10 council meeting states water's rate increases would be implemented in two phases, with the first on July 1, and the second in January 2026. Sewer received a one-time increase on July 1.
Roberts and Councilwoman Susan Klinefelter voted to approve the June 10 council meeting minutes with no corrections, with Claassen opposing them as presented.
Council also:
• Approved a resolution for a temporary loan for the town's wastewater account. Roberts said the account is about $68,000 short, and the loan would be taken from the town's electric utility in the amount of $100,000. The loan will be paid back to the utility in $20,000 increments.
• Heard Roberts has a meeting on Aug. 14 with Brooks Construction Company to discuss phase one of the Heritage Park Trail project.
• Asked residents to contact the town hall or town employee Richard McManis versus posting on social media if any issues occur at Heritage Park regarding needed repairs on equipment.
Council's next meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9.
