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PIERCETON - Pierceton Town Council held a special meeting on Thursday, May 28 to discuss a contract with Astbury for coverage in town following the resignation of Town Superintendent Casey Boggs.
“With the departure of Casey, we have to have certain coverage by certified staff, who are capable of collecting data … and doing the things that Noah (Shepherd) and Ethan (Yates) aren’t certified to do yet,” said Council President Glenn Hall.
Matt Rippey and Tom Ganz, from Astbury, were at the meeting to discuss the contract with the council. Hall mentioned that they were considering Astbury because they were local and if any emergency were to happen, they are “right down the road.”
Rippey explained that they would be doing all the testing, operational adjustments and all the paperwork for the wastewater plant. Rippey noted that they would be working with Shepherd and Yates to make sure everything is running correctly.
Hall asked if there was a specific time frame that Astbury would be working on, which Ganz explained it would be on a month-to-month basis. Hall also asked if they would be willing to work with Shepherd and Yates to get certified and Councilman Chauncey Smith asked if they would still work with “the guys” if they hire on someone who already has the certifications to continue training the other two, to which Ganz responded that they have done that for other towns and are willing to help Pierceton, too.
Council Vice President Matt Brubaker stated that there “are different people with different hourly rates,” and if that contributed to who responds to whatever is going on. Ganz explained that it is who is certified to do certain tasks will be dispatched to do those jobs.
Town attorney Tammy Keirn asked whether the charge for the permit renewal was a flat fee or not, which Rippey answered that it was. Rippey noted that they would work on the permit renewal that Boggs had worked on before leaving. The contract was adopted and signed by the council.
A quote for $3,600 was approved for a new fire hydrant replacement. The Utilities and Street Department have the fire hydrant, but the cost would be for the installation of the hydrant.
The next meeting for the Pierceton Town Council will be 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 9.
