MENTONE - Mentone's utility department is down to one full-time employee and some part-time help.
Monday, the town council accepted the resignation of Utilities Superintendent Darrel Miller.
Tim Croy, council president, said they received Miller's letter of resignation Oct. 24. Asked why Miller resigned, Croy said, "He just told us he was ready for a change."
Croy asked councilmen Roger Long and Jack Simpson if they wanted to make Eric Carlin, the other utilities department full-time employee, the new superintendent.Simpson said they should talk to Carlin about that first before deciding in a public meeting. Long said he didn't think he wanted to do that publicly yet.
Mentone resident Ed Rock asked if the town needed a superintendent to sign papers. Clerk-treasurer Barbara Ross said they did. A certified operator is required to sign papers, and Carlin is certified.
Simpson suggested meeting in executive session Thursday night because the town needs a superintendent soon. Ross said she was not going to be in the office today and Wednesday so she would not be able to provide the local media with a 48-hour notice of an executive session as required by law.
Croy suggested meeting at 6 p.m. Nov. 14 in executive session to meet with Carlin about the superintendent position. The board then will vote on the matter at their Dec. 3 meeting. Simpson and Long agreed.
Until a new utilities superintendent is found, the board agreed that Carlin will serve as acting superintendent.
Miller, 52, started working for the town on Nov. 1, 1990. He became the utilities superintendent in November 2006 after Brian Reed left for the private sector. He has two sons.
Carlin and his wife, Billie Jo, have a daughter, Bellami.
A 2000 Tippecanoe Valley High School graduate, Carlin graduated from Ivy Tech in 2005 with a degree in computer information systems.
The October monthly report for the police department was provided to the council. The report indicated there were 34 incidents; 22 cases; 13 major cases; nine adult arrests; 13 traffic-related uniform traffic tickets; one ordinance violation uniform traffic ticket; 49 traffic-related warnings; and 13 ordinance violation warnings.
Reserve officers worked a total of 88 hours.
Town Marshall Jim Eads said many of the numbers increased as far as warnings and tickets because, in part, the Mentone Police Department participated in Operation Pull Over. Of the 49 traffic-related warnings, Eads said 30 are from Operation Pull Over.
In one case, Eads said they had a felony driving while intoxicated arrest which lead to a meth bust. When the officer was returning from that bust, he ended up behind another drunken driver.
In other business:
n Carlin requested to attend a conference in Columbus, Ind., Dec. 3-5. The trip was approved.
n Ross said at the Dec. 3 meeting, the council will have to decide when to have their end-of-year meeting. She said it could not be after Dec. 25.
Members of the town council are Croy, Simpson and Long. They meet on the first Monday of every month in the Mentone Community Emergency Services Building at 6:30 p.m.
