The Triton School Board took action Monday night to approve vendor contracts to complete several capital projects planned during the summer months.
Sidewalks will be replaced and some of the flooring will be replaced in the high school. Superintendent Donna Burroughs said some of the flooring hadn’t been replaced since the building was constructed in 1963.
The Bremen Town Council members are getting closer to the point to approve a contract for a new EMS service.
Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy said the current ambulance contract will expire this summer and the council will accept bids for a new ambulance service. The council will meet with the ambulance board next week to go over specifications for a new contract. A new ambulance company is expected to be in place this fall.
The Bremen School Board members are looking to save money in a lighting upgrade project.
Superintendent Dr. Jim White said the project will make quite a difference.
“We are converting to LED lighting which will save us tremendously on energy costs,” said Dr. White. “Given the retrofit cost I’m anticipating saving about $20,000 annually in energy and it will have about a three-and-a-half year payback. The life of the bulbs is anywhere between eight to 12 years. We anticipate having that done by the end of the summer.”
Culver Town Manager Jonathan Leist updated the town council on the Stellar Communities application when they met Tuesday night.
The letter of intent and supporting documents were turned in by the April 28 deadline. The town council members will learn if the town is a finalist on May 24.
An open house is scheduled for today at the new home for the WYMR-FM MAX 98.3 FM radio studio.
The Plymouth Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. to celebrate the relocation of the studio to 215 N. Michigan Street in downtown Plymouth.
Live programming will be offered all day. Listen for interviews with Senator Joe Donnelly at 7:30 a.m. and Tom Keb from the Plymouth Farmer’s Market at 9:30 a.m. along with many other guests throughout the day. Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter will be in attendance to welcome the station to the downtown district.
The Bremen School Board approved the Reduction in Force (TIF) Policy on Monday night.
Superintendent Dr. Jim White said the cuts are due to a reduction in funding.
“We’ll be losing two teachers – most likely in our elementary and middle school area. That’s where we’ve dropped a little bit in students. The high school is still holding steady at the number of students they have. We have to keep the school district financially healthy so we can continue to serve everyone in the future,” stated Dr. White.
The Plymouth City Building will undergo renovations this fall. The architects will finalize plans this month. It is the hope of the Plymouth City Council and the Plymouth Redevelopment Commission that the bidding process will proceed in June with the sale of bonds in July. The project is anticipated to begin in August.
City Attorney Sean Surrisi said the clerk-treasurer’s office will see a big change.
The Triton School Board members on Monday night voted to continue with a building project that will begin in 2018.
Bonds will be issued to build a new gym at the high school, install a new roof at the high school and purchase a new heating and cooling system at the elementary school.
The Bremen Town Council recently met with the Bremen Redevelopment Commission to discuss funding for the replacement or improvement of 16 lift stations in the wastewater system.
Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy said the redevelopment commission has guaranteed the funding for the project which is anticipated to cost between $900,000 to $1 million.
The lift stations are approximately 40 to 50 years old and need to be upgraded. Nine are located in the town’s jurisdiction while seven are in TIF areas.
The Culver Town Council and the Culver Redevelopment Commission met in a long joint meeting on Tuesday night to discuss a housing development agreement between the entities and housing developer Kevin Berger and funding for the project.
Council President Ginny Bess Munroe stated that they are at the stage of approving financing for the project. The Culver Redevelopment Commission would finance $400,000 for the project with nearly the same financial obligation from the Culver Town Council. The town hopes to use Regional City Northern Indiana money that the county won last year. A housing dollar amount of $270,000 was set aside for this venture and a presentation in order to appropriate that money is set for June. If the town is awarded the Stellar Communities designation, funding would be used toward that project.
The Marshall County 4-H Fair Board is looking to apply for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant to help pay for a new community center and Fair Board President Rob Hurford asked the county council’s permission Monday night to move forward with that project.
He explained that the community center will be a revenue generating feature on the fairgrounds to help fund operations. Hurford said the center can function as a reception hall for weddings as the plan calls for a seating capacity of 450. It can also be used for senior services, community meetings, auctions, graduation parties, and a multitude of other uses.
Marshall County Prosecutor Nelson Chipman will be looking to hire a Pre-trial Diversion Officer.
Prosecutor Chipman went before the Marshall County Council Monday night to ask to apply for a grant to pay for the position. The state has already approved the grant as the county has received it in the past, but an application is needed to complete the process. The position will be available July 1.
The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department will be strictly enforcing Indiana’s seat belt laws in a Click it or Ticket campaign beginning Friday, May 12.
Sheriff Matt Hassel said that officers are prepared to ticket anyone who is not wearing a seat belt in a moving car. Drivers who have not properly restrained children in a car seat will also be ticketed.
The Culver Town Council will meet in a specially-called meeting with the Culver Redevelopment Commission tonight at 5p.m. ET. The members of each government entity will discuss an agreement as part of a housing development project on Jefferson Street as outlined in the Stellar Communities application.
Clerk-Treasurer Karen Heim explained that the town wants to enter into an agreement with the housing developer that specifies responsibilities. The town will do the infrastructure work and the housing developer will be responsible for building the homes.
The Crossing School and Business Entrepreneurship is hosting a fundraising banquet on Thursday, May 11 to help provide education and job training skills to students in a non-traditional school setting.
Campus Administrator Brian St. Louis said the Plymouth school assists students who don’t normally flourish in a traditional classroom setting. The Crossing provides an option for those students to be in a different environment with an alternate pace to gain the necessary education to become a productive member of society. It also includes a faith based component.
An open house is set for Monday, May 15 at the Culver Beach Lodge as a prelude to the summer season at Lake Maxinkuckee.
Park Superintendent Anna Campbell said the event will allow residents to see what changes have occurred inside the Culver Beach Lodge over the winter months. Town Manager Jonathan Leist will present information along with members of the Culver Town Council who will be available for questions.
An open house to celebrate the relocation of the WYMR-FM MAX 98.3 studio is planned for Wednesday, May 10. The Plymouth Chamber of Commerce will help welcome guests with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. at the radio station’s new home at 215 N. Michigan St. in Plymouth.
Listeners are welcome to stop by for tours of the facility from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visitors will have a chance to meet the staff while several of the Kankakee Valley Broadcasting, Inc. board members will be in attendance to answer questions. The event will be broadcast live with live programming all day.
The Marshall County Council will meet tonight with a full agenda.
The personnel committee is expected to have updates on position descriptions for several different county entities while EMA Director Clyde Avery will present a grant request for the annual performance grant. Clerk Deb VanDeMark will request a waiver of the probationary pay for one of her staff members and several abatement requests will be on the table for council discussion.
The Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety members will award bids and ratify an executive order when they meet tonight.
Bids were opened for microsurfacing projects and the street and sidewalk projects at the last meeting. City Engineer Rick Gaul asked to take those bids under advisement until tonight’s meeting to make sure all of the paperwork is in line with specifications.
The Triton School Board will hold a work session tonight to discuss a proposed building project, a sponsorship agreement and the administrative handbook.
Superintendent Donna Burroughs explained that a facility study showed that a new heating and cooling system is needed at the elementary school and the roof needs replaced at the high school. A new gym was listed as part of that facility study. The proposed cost of the project is $4 million.
