Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SILVER LAKE - Multi-Township EMS and Silver Lake now have a lease agreement through June 30, 2011.
Tuesday night at their regular meeting, the Silver Lake Town Council unanimously approved a motion to approve a lease contract for Multi-Township EMS.
MTEMS will lease about 1,000 square feet of space in the Silver Lake fire station building for $400 per month. The lease money is due the first of each month and will remain the same until the lease runs out.
As part of the agreement, the town will pay utilities, but MTEMS must pay to have a telephone line installed. The emergency service will pay the telephone bill and is not allowed to use the phone line currently installed for the fire department.
MTEMS also is allowed to remodel the space to make bedrooms and use the existing kitchen and restroom facilities in the building. A doorbell and entry keypad will be installed at MTEMS's cost.
The MTEMS is restricted to parking only two vehicles at the fire station at any given time.
In other business, the council:
• Approved a motion to add one street light on Ind. 15N, between Sands Mini-Mart and the carwash. According to Town Manager Phil Shalley, two lights probably will be needed to make the space as bright as they would like. "Put one up and if we need a second, then we'll do it," said council member Stanley Williams.
• Approved a motion to charge Cardinal Center Inc. rent for its sprinkler system in a Silver Lake group home. According to a town ordinance in place since 1988, any business with a tap-head sprinkler system is charged a yearly fee because the water used by the system cannot be metered. Cardinal Center Inc. has never paid the fee in the past, but council members decided to bill the organization and enforce the ordinance as it is written.
"If we don't make them pay, it is not fair to the citizens of Silver Lake," said Williams.
• Approved a bid from Lewis Tree Trimming Service to remove four dead trees from 105 S. Jefferson St., across from the park. Lewis' bid for the project was $400.
• Approved a claim docket of $55,225.83.
• Heard an update on tornado sirens. Three companies submitted price quotes for the sirens, and one company performed a test in the town Friday. Quotes for the sirens ranged from $16,000 to $25,000. Town Marshal Craig Hollopeter told the council that he and Angie Glass are in the process of writing a grant request to pay for a portion of a siren. Hollopeter said he may be able to get donations from town businesses to help with the cost of the siren as well. The board told Hollopeter and Glass to work with a quote from J&K Communications, Columbia City. The council will revisit the issue at a later meeting.
Silver Lake Town Council members are Ronald Jones, president, Stanley Williams and Tom Waite. Clerk-treasurer is Angie Glass.
