MENTONE – Many Mentone residents use the cemetery for walking and jogging, but the town council and Utilities Superintendent Josh Shepherd wants public input on whether residents would use a walking trail in the park.
At the Mentone Town Council meeting Monday night, Shepherd told the council he’s been working with two different contractors on getting prices for a walking trail at the park. People can stop in at Clerk-Treasurer Barb Ross’s office and look at the map of the proposed loop.
The trail would be black topped, 8 feet wide and about 1,500 feet long. If the public doesn’t want the walking trail, Shepherd said he can use the money in his budget for other things.
“There are a lot of other things we can do down there,” he said. “If it’s not going to be used, I don’t want to do it.”
Jill Gross, councilwoman, said they need to get the community’s feedback on it. She said she could see people using it who have kids. The kids could play in the park while the parents walk.
Shepherd said it’s a lot of money for a trail, though, if people don’t use it.
“I wish people would get more involved with all our decision making,” Tim Croy, council president, said.
Shelly Krueger, councilwoman, said the K21 Health Foundation does provide grants for fitness-related projects so maybe it would provide a grant for the trail. Gross said she will check into that.
“I think we still need input,” Gross reiterated.
Shepherd said the park does get used a lot, and the trail would be one more thing the community could use there.
The council also approved an ordinance establishing an anti-nepotism policy.
Ross said, “We have to have this adopted or our budget won’t get adopted.”
Town attorney Larry Beeson said a few bad apples have made a mess for everyone so now everyone has to do something about it. There have been cases where public officials have hired their sons, daughters or other family members and the state wants to put a stop to that.
Croy said the state listed township trustees as offenders and that’s one of the reasons they wanted to eliminate township trustees.
Croy represents the town on the fire control board. His wife works for them, but Croy doesn’t have direct supervision over her so Beeson said that wasn’t an issue.
The council unanimously approved the ordinance.
The ordinance states the town “has determined that it is in the best interests of the town to establish an anti-nepotism policy.”
The ordinance states it shall be the policy of the town regarding the employment of relatives of elected officials in the same unit as codified in IC 36-1-20.2. Contracting with relatives of elected officials in the same unit also shall follow IC 36-1-21.
The ordinance goes into full effect July 1.
In other business, the council:
– Signed the accounting software agreement with Keystone for $4,570 a year. The agreement also provides the town with the license for the software.
– Heard from Shepherd that fire hydrants will be flushed June 20-21 so residents may have discolored water.
– Decided to have an executive session for personnel matters July 9 at 6:30 p.m.
– Thanked the utilities, street and police departments and the Mentone Chamber of Commerce for their great job with the Egg Festival over the weekend.
– Heard from Croy that Sam Bohnkey and Randy Bays both completed and passed the Reserve Academy and will be “turned loose” on the streets of Mentone soon.
