NORTH MANCHESTER – Beginning immediately, North Manchester residents may now use credit cards to pay for fines, fees and services owed to the town. North Manchester Town Council revised an ordinance at its meeting Wednesday night. The ordinance previously prohibited the use of credit cards to make payments to the town. “We already had the technology in place, we were just waiting on this ordinance to pass,” Clerk-Treasurer Carrie Mugford said. “What if we hadn’t passed it?” board member Thomas Dale joked. The board discussed the Grossnickle ditch project, which has been discussed for several years now. The project is part of a long-term control plan to separate the combined sanitary and storm sewers, and will carry the stormwater directly to the river. This should help alleviate flooding during heavy rains by reducing the amount of water the sewage plant receives. “This is such a long-term problem. This is an important project that we’ve been talking about for a long time,” President Christopher Garber said. The board passed a motion to pledge to support the project. They agreed to pay for the portion of the ditch that is on the Town of North Manchester property at a cost of no more than $190,000. The total amount will be based on a percentage of either length or cost of the total project, and Wabash County also will pay for a portion. This decision is contingent on receiving a grant for $400,000 for the project. A public hearing will be announced soon. Chris Bradford, American House, Main Street, downtown North Manchester, addressed the board. Bradford has requested to use some of the sidewalk space in front of his building to include an outdoor dining area. He would also like to move the entrance from its current location on Main Street and relocate it closer to the middle of the building. This would require the addition of an accessible ramp. The sidewalk is currently 11 feet, 3 inches in this area. Bradford assured the board that if these changes were made, the tightest area of the sidewalk would be 4 feet, 3 inches. The board agreed to allow Bradford to make the changes, with the condition that no part of the sidewalk is narrower than 48 inches. In other business: – A section of 9th Street will be closed either Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Thirteen trucks will deliver 70-foot concrete beams for the Aquatic Center around 10:30 a.m. and are not expected to depart until 6 p.m. At no point will both lanes be blocked, but traffic will be rerouted around the section between Maple and Market streets for safety purposes. The actual day of the delivery will be announced as soon as it is known, and bus routes and student traffic have already been taken into consideration. – The North Manchester Parks and Recreation Department has released a schedule for its summer programs. The programs include summer day camps, taekwondo and a square dancing club. More information about summer programs is listed on the town website under the Parks and Recreation Department link. – The next meeting of the North Manchester Town Council will be June 1 at 7 p.m.
