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MENTONE - Continued concerns over liability led the Mentone Town Council to again table Wave One's request to place an antenna on the town's water tower. However, the news looks more promising for the company hoping to bring wireless Internet service into town.
After an hour-long discussion, the council told Phil Lewis of Wave One to submit a proposal in contract form for consideration at the next meeting.
Council president Ed Rock asked for the submission from Wave One after Lynn Phillips' motion to deny the request and make it a policy that no non-town antennas be allowed on the water tower died for lack of a second.
Council member Forrest Kantner said that Midwest Spring has been in the community a long time and employs a lot of area people. "The alternative would be to keep them and make them happy or run the risk of them leaving town," Kantner said, adding "and we don't want to see that happen."
The matter was brought to the attention of the council at the April meeting when John Leonard of Midwest Spring told the council that his company is in need of this service and Lewis explained that a high location was needed to place an antenna to receive the signal.
"It hurts me every day that we don't have this service," Leonard said. "We're talking about bringing cutting-edge technology to the public ... (and) the use of public land will be for the betterment of the public."
A question regarding placing the antenna on public property was brought up last month by Mike Yazel of MedT.com of Mentone, a local Internet provider. Yazel was concerned with the competing business being allowed access to town property.
Lewis said that Wave One's goal is to bring the best technology to the area at a reasonable price. "You'll never get competitive service if you don't have access to the technology," Lewis said. "Internet providers have not been knocking down the door to get to Mentone."
Once Lewis spells out what he needs from the town and the issue of liability for his employees or subcontractors being on the tower is adequately addressed, then the council will again consider the request.
In other business, the council voted to commit up to $400 for advertising in the Kosciusko County Visitor's Guide. Representatives of SpectraPrint of Milford, which is putting the guide together on behalf of the Kosciusko County Convention and Visitor's Bureau, attended Monday's meeting and also will meet with the Mentone Chamber of Commerce.
The council also:
• Approved $6,225 for the purchase of an X Mark industrial grade mower from Hoffman Simplicity of Warsaw. Two older mowers and a dump truck, which has been replaced, will be auctioned by the town on June 13.
• Set a deadline of May 15 for receiving bids for sidewalk work. Contractors should submit a per-square-foot cost. Specifications for the work are available at the clerk's office.
• Gave permission for the park board to spend up to $450 to complete the beautification project and other work.
• Discussed a problem with overflowing trash bins at Sand's Mini Mart. Town superintendent Brian Reed said he saw bags being dragged down the street by a dog last week and complaints have been received about trash blowing into neighboring yards. The business will be notified.
• Issued a reminder that May 15 is cleanup day. Large items will be picked up on this day, and a list of what types of items will and will not be picked up is available at the clerk's office.
The next meeting is at 7 p.m. June 1 in the town hall.
