MENTONE – When resident David Hudson offered the Mentone Town Council some information on the Neighborhood Watch program Monday, he was met with some heated resistance by others at the meeting.
At the Sept. 6 meeting, Hudson told the council about issues he and other town residents had with the police department. He then suggested several ideas to improve law enforcement in the town, including establishing a Neighborhood Watch. The council then told him if he collected more information, to share it with the council.
Monday, when he told the council he had more information on the Neighborhood Watch program, he also said they need to come up with a time, place and advertising for it.
Resident Troy Burgess then asked Hudson why he felt the town needed to have a Neighborhood Watch, especially when no one in town is trained. Meth is a big problem in the county, and you don’t want to face someone on meth, Burgess said.
Hudson said the police department provides “adequate” coverage of the town. From what he sees, however, the police vehicles are parked in front of the station for long periods of time.
Town Marshal Jim Eads said they aren’t playing games in the office, which is what he suspected Hudson was accusing them of doing. Eads and deputy Terry Engstrand work five days and put in a combined 80 hours a week. The department also has two reserves and two more in training.
Hudson said there are about 700 hours in a month and the officers work half that. Eads said the reserve officers are working for free.
Burgess asked Hudson, “What do you see that can be managed better?”
Eads asked, “What job isn’t getting done?”
Hudson repeated that he sees the police vehicles sitting at the station all the time. Meanwhile, he sees cars speeding down the road frequently and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know when a car is going faster than the posted speed limit. Hudson said the police department isn’t performing to the capacity they are capable of performing.
Council President Tim Croy said there wasn’t anything wrong with a Neighborhood Crime Watch. Hudson brought more research to the council, and the council will do its own research on the issue, too.
“In a small community,” said Burgess, “people need to know who their neighbors are. If they have a problem, they need to say something.”
One way for neighbors to get to know each other, Hudson said, is through a program like Neighborhood Watch.
Resident Bill Wohead said the two paid officers work 80 out of the 168 hours per week, and he sees them doing a lot of work. If Hudson wants to have a “vigilante” group, Wohead said, maybe Hudson should volunteer his time and work under Eads.
Later in the meeting, Clerk-Treasurer Barb Ross told the council that some time ago, the council used to conduct its meeting with an agenda. She asked if they wanted to go back to doing that so the council would have a more unified meeting.
Croy supported that idea. Ross then asked how far in advance must people ask to be on the agenda.
After some discussion, it was agreed that if a person wants to be on the council’s agenda, they must notify Ross by the Monday prior to the meeting. That will given board members time prior to the meeting to think about it.
The agenda will start with the Nov. 7 meeting. Croy said the council doesn’t want the agenda to keep people away from coming to the meetings. They appreciate everyone for coming and everyone’s input.
In other business, the council: – Heard from Jim Emans, Emans Engineering, that the stormwater drain project is completed and 100 percent of the grant was used with significant improvements to the drainage in town.
– Held a public hearing at 6 p.m. to adopt the 2012 budget.
– Heard from Utilities Superintendent Eric Carlin that the tentative start date of leaf pick-up will be Oct. 11. Residents should not rake their leaves onto the street. They should leave them on the curbside.
– Fire hydrants will be flushed Wednesday and Thursday. During that time, water may be discolored and residents may want to avoid doing their laundry during those two days.
– Approved for Carlin to purchase equipment to test the town’s own E. coli levels at the wastewater treatment plant. The equipment will cost $4,862.42 and Carlin will receive some training on it. By testing in-house, Carlin said the town should save some money.
– Approved for Eads to purchase two mobile radios for $2,905.68 from J&K through Kenwood.
– Announced the big fall clean-up will be Oct. 19. Ross has a list of items in her office that can’t be picked up. The items left to be hauled away should not be put on the street, but on the curbside.
– Announced Trick or Treat for Halloween in Mentone will be Oct. 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. The Chamber of Commerce will have its costume contest at 7 p.m. at the school.
– Announced building inspector Marv Wiggins submitted his letter of resignation effective Dec. 31.
