SYRACUSE – At Tuesday’s regular Syracuse Town Council meeting, officer Gary Clark was sworn in with the Syracuse Police Department. Clark replaces officer Joe Salazar. The council also passed two ordinances. The first was to establish rules and limits regarding purchasing of supplies and services by town department heads. This practice is being put in place to take advantage of various group discounts on purchases rather than individual items at a higher price, which costs the town more money overall. The ordinance authorizes the following spending limits: clerk-treasurer, $3,000; town manager, $7,000; department heads, $3,000; and department employees with prior approval of department heads, $250. The second ordinance amended the town code to designate the alleyway between Dolan Drive and North Huntington Street running east to west to be a one-way. Town manager Henry DeJulia asked the town council to sign an agreement with London Woody to be the Syracuse Town Council’s consultants that will speak with the Turkey Creek Township’s representative, Umbaugh and Associates. This is in an effort to communicate clearly over the recent quarrel over sewer rates being charged by Syracuse to Turkey Creek. DeJulia also announced that they are still looking for someone to serve on the Board of Zoning Appeals. The person needs to be a resident of Syracuse. Police Chief James Layne asked to be able to replace a squad car with a new vehicle for a cost not to exceed $24,660 and for $5,000 to outfit the new vehicle. The council approved the request. Park Superintendent Chad Jonsson reported cleaning up some property on Vorderman Park near the pond. Jonsson’s goal for the area in 2017 is to create some walking trails in that area over the summer. Director of Public Works Rob Merchant reported that he is preparing for the upcoming pavement around the plant. Councilman Larry Siegel asked if there had been any resolutions with the aeration equipment. Merchant said the equipment was not adequate. He reported the electric bill was up at least 40 percent from normal. “You can’t keep throwing good money at bad,” Merchant said. “The stuff doesn’t work, it’s costly, it’s going to continue to cost.” Merchant went on to say that he is waiting on some estimates on how the plant problems can be resolved. He recommended continuing to run the faulty equipment for a few months in order to be able to give hard numbers on exactly why it is not working for the town. As to who the town should hold at fault, Merchant said that Crosby installed exactly what Triad Engineering told them to install and the supplier gave the equipment based on faulty data that was given by Triad. “As far as I’m concerned, the blame lies almost completely with Triad,” said Merchant. “They were supposed to be representing the town and they didn’t do a very good job.” Merchant contacted Crossroads to discuss Community Crossing funds for improvements on Front and Harkless streets. Finally, he reported that Polywood applied for a new wastewater discharge permit. Fire Chief Mickey Scott is trying to fill a position for a firefighter paramedic. Clerk-Treasurer Paula Kehr-Wicker requested approval to hire a company that will fill the walls in the town hall with spray foam, in order to stop sound from traveling from office to office. The council approved the resolution with Indiana Spray for the amount of $4,145. Kehr-Wicker also brought forth the need for an updated employee handbook and revamped town website. Both issues were tabled until the March meeting. Finally, a member of the public asked that upcoming ordinances be available on the table at meetings in order for the public to know about them, stating that otherwise the public wouldn’t have an opportunity to give their input.
