Syracuse OKs Funds To Help 'Public Disaster Boot Camp'
Posted
John DeGroff-
SYRACUSE - Syracuse Town Council's October meeting began with an appeal for funding by Dylan Dunithan, member of Boy Scout Troop 728.
Dunithan is working toward the rank of Eagle Scout, and as a project has developed a disaster awareness program called Public Disaster Boot Camp.
Dunithan explained to the council that his idea for the project came from the tornado that heavily damaged Nappanee, and from instances of area flooding. He will work with American Red Cross instructors to stage a mock disaster scenario to be held at the new Scout building Nov. 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Dunithan hopes to get at least 100 people involved, including members of the police and fire departments, along with private citizens.
He requested $1,000 to help cover the cost of various supplies. Dunithan applied for a grant for the remainder of the expenses. The council approved this donation, which will come from a fund set up specifically for public relations projects.
George Robertson, newly installed executive director of the Kosciusko Economic Development Corp., was on hand to introduce himself to the council and to discuss his perspective on how Syracuse and the county can work together.
"I've been in the county a total of six weeks now," he said. "This is my fifth trip to Syracuse. I mention that because, having done development for the State of South Dakota, I know how important it is to the smaller communities ... to know that they're not forgotten."
He went on to list specific areas that are either already helpful to the town, or that need to be further developed. Among the positives, Robertson mentioned the friendliness of the local people, along with the fact that most companies in the area are technologically efficient when it comes to both production and communications.
Areas of development that will assist in growth focus on marketing that is specific to each community and each piece of real estate. This also ties in with making the best use of local innovation, entrepreneurialism and the skilled work force to be found here.
"In this county, the human element is still here," he said. "People give good service simply because that's the way they do business."
Robertson mentioned that on Oct. 27, the Kosciusko County Economic Development Corp. will hold a public hearing to announce further plans. For more information, visit online at www.kosciuskoedc.com or call 574-265-2601.
It was announced in a previous meeting that the council would look at the issue of collecting deposits on new water and sewer accounts. To this affect, an ordinance was passed. It establishes that " ...when a new residential account is established ... before services are provided, the responsible party/parties shall pay a monetary deposit of $75.
" ... new industrial, commercial, multifamily accounts or public authority account is established ... the responsible party/parties for each new account shall pay a monetary deposit equal to one month's charges ...
"No monetary deposit will be required for any responsible party/parties who have accounts in their name as of the date this ordinance is passed, or any tenants who have established utility accounts in their individual names, as of the date this ordinance is passed ...."
The ordinance also provides for holding deposits against delinquent accounts, and for returning deposits within seven days after the final bill is paid in full.
In order to legally set up collection of such accounts, it was also necessary for the council to pass an ordinance which established a separate fund for these accounts.
Town Marshal Tony Ciriello discussed the necessity of regulating traffic flow through the Wawasee Heights division, in part due to the new trail set to go through the neighborhood. The changes that Ciriello feels necessary are:
n Make Manor Drive a stop where it intersects with both Pickwick and Hillside.
n Make Pickwick a yield where it intersects with Manor.
n Make Hillside a yield where it intersects with Manor.
n Make Hillside a stop where it intersects with Kinder.
The council approved this plan, and the required ordinance will be presented at the next meeting.
Halloween events throughout the community are:
n Lakeland Youth Center's Halloween Kids Carnival, Saturday.
n The Haunted House will be Oct. 28-30, open from 6:30 to 9 p.m. each night. Cost is $5 per person. The Wawasee Swimming and Diving Team has offered to provide volunteers.
n First middle school dance Friday from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
n Trick-or-Treat hours are 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 30.
In other business:
n Claims for October in the amount of $413,048.99 were approved.
n The council approved the public works department to have a new bucket truck lift unit installed on one of the department's existing vehicles for $18,000.
n The clerk's office will be closed Nov. 3.
Syracuse Town Council members are Larry Siegel, Bill Musser, Jeff Morgan, Brian Woody and Paul Stoelting.
