SILVER LAKE – At their Tuesday night meeting, the Silver Lake Town Council discussed a new stop sign at Poplar and Wells streets, established procedures for utility collections and set authorization for permission to purchase on behalf of the town.
Dave Cox, a Silver Lake resident who lives near Poplar and Wells streets, addressed the council on his concerns for the area near his home. Last month there was requests for a stop sign at that corner to stop traffic from speeding through a neighborhood with children.
“There is a yield sign there and I really appreciate that being there, but people park there and you can’t hardly see it,” Cox said. “My whole point is to try to stop an accident from happening. There is a ‘T’ there, not a curve. If people start stopping there, they will get used to stopping there.”
Councilman Phil Shalley responded with some research he had done on the situation.
“I’ve checked with Warsaw, Akron and Manchester. They all have a yield sign in a situation like ours. If we changed this, the yield sign should be moved where the traffic really is.”
Silver Lake Street and Utilities Superintendent Jasun Blocher thought that the sign was not the right size.
“The yield sign is too small,” Blocher said. “We can change that.”
Shalley responded by saying it wasn’t an issue of the sign being big enough.
“It’s not a sign issue,” Shalley said. “It’s an enforcement issue.”
Fellow councilman Gale Owens suggested that the council make the sign larger so that it is more visible.
After about 20 minutes of discussion Cox asked the council why they were hesitant to put a stop sign there to stop an accident.
Shalley said, “If we put a stop sign there we would have to start putting stop signs all over.”
Cox came back and said there are a lot of stop signs in areas that do not need them and this section of Silver Lake does.
Additionally Cox asked the board if they would change their minds if he started a petition or had people call in and voice support for a stop sign at the intersection.
Shalley said, “If you can show me support for putting something there I will consider it. Have people call me or get a petition. I will change my mind if you can get support. All you got to do is drop a note with their names here or have them call me.”
After the discussion on whether or not to put a stop sign at Poplar and Wells streets, the council voted to adopt ordinance 9-1-12, which establishes procedures for utility collections, payment agreements and arrears.
The ordinance states that the deadline for receipt of payment is the 20th of each month. After that the payment will be past due and a one-time 10 percent late fee will be assessed.
Additionally there will be a past due notice and notice of disconecction that will be sent 10-days before shut-off of utilities. After the notices there can be an appeal made within seven days to the council president.
If payment cannot be made, residents can enter into a payment agreement with the town. A resident can only enter into a maximum of two payment agreements per year and the bill must be paid in full within six months.
Council approved the ordinance 3-0.
Once council approved the ordinance they began discussing how much each department head and employee of the town should be authorized to spend without permission from the board.
It was brought up that Winona Lake has a $2,500 limit and employees have a $100 limit that they can spend before they need approval of the council.
Shalley said, “I think $2,500 is way too much. For years we did it at $150 and now they are at $500.”
Councilman Chad Miner suggested that the purchase amounts be broken down into categories.
“I would be ok with new purchases and equipment and a second category for things you typically do and then an emergency category.”
Blocher suggested that the limit on emergency purchases be $3,500, since that is the most that his department would have to pay to fix something that would keep the town operating smoothly.
The council accepted a dollar amount of $500 for new purchases and $3,500 on emergency purchases.
During reports from department heads Blocher wanted to remind citizens that when they bring bags of grass to the road they need to be dry.
“If you’re going to bag grass call us ahead of time,” Blocher said. “We can’t burn wet grass.”
John Conley, a volunteer with Silver Lake Volunteer Fire Department, informed the council and public that on Saturday, Oct 27, the fire department will have a hog roast. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. There will also be a dedication of the monument in front of the station at noon.
Additionally there will be a cornhole tournament.
Participants must pre-register and the cost is $30. Contact the Silver Lake Fire Department at slfd@townofsilverlake.com
The next meeting of the Silver Lake Town Council will be October 9, at 7 p.m., at the Silver Lake Town Hall.
