Lapel Town Council

March 18, 2021 @ 7:00pm

Lapel Eagles

Call to order:  In attendance was Chad Blake, Tom Marvel, Teresa Retherford, Paula Lee, Kourtney Krabbe, & Ashley Hopper Town Attorney. Jason Kleinbub, and Lindsay Washmuth were both absent at this meeting.  

Public comment: Herschel Hinkle stated the Lapel Community Association decided not to have the Lapel Village Fair this year due to too many unknowns with the current pandemic. Mr. Hinkle stated in the past he normally goes to Lowe’s in the spring to get 75 flags for the town, at this time he is asking if the Council will allow him to do that again this year. Motion to approve the LCA to purchase 75 flags was made by Blake, 2^nd by Teresa; all were in favor.

Stephanie Turner, representing INDOT for SR 13 project going through Lapel, needs to know the timeframe of the Lapel OCRA project because it is causing delay in INDOT’s paving project. Jeremy VanErman, Common Wealth Engineers, stated someone from the company will reach out to Turner to coordinate with INDOT on a working schedule.

There were no additional public comments.

CCMG Update: Drew Wolfred from Kimley-Horn stated the CCMG project has been advertised. Bids for the project are due 4/1/21 @ 4:00pm, the town will issue award on 4/5/21, and Kimley-Horn will have everything sent to INDOT by 4/8/21.

Wolfred spoke about the two amendments that Kimley-Horn is proposing to the council in regards to the agreement the town has with Kimley-Horn dated December 15, 2020. Amendment #1 is to allow Kimley Horn’s sub consultant, Mason Private Locating, come dig 8 holes to properly locate existing water, electric, and communication lines. These locates are crucial so that Kimley Horn can properly engineer the drain structures to help the drainage issues on 200 S. Amendment #1 is a lump sum of  $6500.00, that would come out of town pocket, and is not included in the CCMG project. Motion to approve Amendment #1 was made by Marvel, 2^nd by Blake; all were in favor.  

Amendment #2 is for construction phase support, which allows for an hourly budget for inspections & work during construction phase but not to exceed $46,200.00. Motion to approve amendment #2 was made by Marvel, 2^nd by Retherford; all were in favor.  

Marvel to reach out to INDOT and figure out detour routes for the SR 13/32 project. 200S & Vine St are apart of our CCMG project, and we don’t want to worsen the roads more before project.

 A discussion regarding 10^th street between John & Woodward was held. Lapel town attorneys and Kimley-Horn are going to work together to finalize an agreement for right of entry before further discussion is held on this matter.

Motion to approve 1/21/21 meeting minutes was made by Retherford, 2^nd by Blake; all were in favor.  

Blake asked to entertain a motion to suspend the regular council meeting, and open a public hearing for Ordinance 7-2021 to amend the golf cart ordinance.

Motion to suspend regular council meeting and open a public hearing for the golf cart amendment was made by Marvel, 2^nd by Blake; all were in favor. This public hearing was advertised in the Herald Bulletin & Elwood Call Leader on 3/8/21. At this time Blake turns the hearing over to Police Chief Kelly Naselroad, and town attorney Ashley Hopper. Chief Naselroad states the golf cart inspection fee remains $50.00, and the violation fee went from $500.00 down to $250.00. This ordinance repeals and replaces all prior golf cart ordinances except ordinance 4-2011. This ordinance will be published in the Herald Bulletin & Elwood Call Leader after adoption. Paula Lee stated there is a comment on our town Facebook page regarding section 9 item d of ordinance 7-2021 which states no children under the age of 3 years of age may ride in or on a golf cart or motorized cart. Lee states, “Just to clarify, this is a part of the ordinance, and we will post the ordinance to our website and town Facebook page”. Herschel Hinkle asked when the registration dates are good for. Chief Naselroad stated inspections still need to be done on an annual basis, and the stickers are good from July 1^st - June 30^th.

Blake asked to entertain a motion to close the public hearing for ordinance 7-2021 and reopen the regular council meeting.

Motion to close public hearing for ordinance 7-2021 and reopen the regular meeting was made by Marvel 2^nd by Retherford; all were in favor.  

Motion to approve the 1^st reading Ordinance 7-2021 was made by Retherford, 2^nd by Marvel; all were in favor.  

Motion to suspend rules for Ordinance 7-2021 and allow for the 2^nd 3^rd readings was made by Blake, 2^nd by Retherford; all were in favor.

Motion to approve the 2^nd reading of ordinance 7-2021 was made by Retherford, 2^nd by Blake; all were in favor.  

Motion to approve the 3^rd reading of ordinance 7-2021 was made by Retherford, 2^nd by Marvel; all were in favor.

Motion to suspend the regular town council meeting and open a public hearing for ordinance 8-2021 off road vehicles was made by Retherford, 2^nd by Blake; all were in favor.

This public hearing was advertised in Herald Bulletin & Elwood Call Leader on 3/8/21. At this time Blake turns the hearing back over to Police Chief Kelly Naselroad and town attorney Ashley hopper. Ordinance 8-2021 separates off road vehicles from the golf cart ordinance. The fee for the off road vehicle inspection remains $50 annually. The violation fee has been reduced from $500 to up to $250.

Ken Delabastide asks if a driver’s license & proof of insurance is required to operate an off road vehicle. Blake confirms that a driver’s license & proof of insurance is required.

Motion to close the public hearing for ordinance 8-2021 and reopen the regular council meeting was made by Retherford, 2^nd by Marvel; all were in favor.

Chief Naselroad says there are state statutes that need to be enforced regarding off road vehicle such as drivers must have insurance and valid driver’s license to operate on the roadway. The Town of Lapel is not allowing these vehicles to be operate off road within town limits. Also the operator or passenger under the age of 18 have to have a DOT approved helmet, a seat belt for each seated passenger, and no more passengers in the vehicle then there are seats provided by the manufacturer.

Naselroad recommends defining off road vehicles as four or more wheels, side by side seating, headlights, tail lights, turn signals, windshield, mirrors, seatbelts, and manufactured seats. We should exclude snowmobiles, 3 wheelers, quads, and limiting their speed limit to the same as golf carts. There are also some vehicles that fall in between off road vehicle, and golf cart vehicle. Those vehicles are similar to utility vehicles, like a gator, which has two seats and a dump bed in the back. Naselroad recommends those types of vehicles be classified under the golf cart ordinance.

Ordinance tabled until further amendments have been finalized.

Motion to approve the 2^nd reading of ordinance 3-2021 was made by Retherford, 2^nd by Marvel; all were in favor.
Motion to approve the 3^rd reading of ordinance 3-2021 was made by Blake, 2^nd by Marvel; all were in favor.  

Motion to approve the 2^nd reading of ordinance 4-2021 wad made by Retherford, 2^nd by Marvel; all were in favor.
Motion to approve the 3^rd reading of ordinance 4-2021 was made by Marvel, 2^nd by Retherford; all were in favor.

Motion to approve the 1^st reading of ordinance 5-2021 was made by Marvel, 2^nd by Retherford; all were in favor.  

Motion to approve the 1^st reading of ordinance 6-2021 was made by Retherford, 2^nd by Blake; all were in favor.  

A discussion was held on resolution 3-2021 small purchase resolution, which states how much a department head can spend without council approval. Lee asks if council would prefer a written request submitted by each department head. Council would like department heads to submit a written request that is to be signed by clerk-treasurer’s office for items $1K-$5K.

Westside property: no updates from the relator that initially reached out to Blake. Retherford is against getting rid of westside property. Marvel wants to know if we are going to annex first because he does not see the point in selling property the town owns if we are not going to get tax dollars off that property. Ken Delabastide asks if the town sells property will they need to get two appraisals. Town Attorney Ashley Hopper states they will need to get two appraisals if they were to sell the property.  

Conflict of interest form: no action can be taken tonight as there are not enough board members available since Retherford has to abstain.

Motion to approve the March docket claims with the removal of claim #28711 was made by Blake, 2^nd by Marvel; all were in favor.

Police update: The new 2021 Explorer police vehicle is officially on the road. Chief Naselroad thanks the council for providing the police department with a safe, brand new vehicle. The police department also received an anonymous donation of two new shotguns, and wants to make sure the department’s gratitude is known. Blake stated compliments have been received about the police presence at the Lapel middle school to control speed.

Park update: There was no meeting held this month due to attendance, so the park board would like to change their meeting date to the 3^rd Tuesday of every month at 7pm at Lapel Town Hall. Katie Hutchison is to work with Town Hall, and Ashley hopper town attorney on the proper procedure to permanently change the meeting date.

Planning update: The Planning Commission held a discussion on the proposed Lapel Commons addition to be put in off Central Ave. The developers need to re-evaluate the drawings to provide two entrances into the addition. Jeremy VanErman stated that he has a memo for President Gary Shuck to review regarding Montgomery Farms phase 4.

Office update: Kourtney & Paula have been in IMLCT training all week. Lapel is being audited by SBOA for the years 2019 & 2020. Lee provided three quotes to repair town hall backdoor, and police department side door. For the town hall Carpentry Unlimited $3,203.66, Lukens Construction $1,724.10, Tony Mullet refused to give a quote. For the Police Department Carpentry Unlimited $872.21, Lukens Construction $1,175+additional $175 to add on wire in the window, Tony Mullet refused to give a quote. Hopper wants to treat these as two separate quotes, since they are quoted separately and located at separate buildings.

Motion to approve Lukens Construction as the lowest responsible bid at $1,724.10 to replace the back door at Town Hall was made by Blake, 2^nd by Retherford; all were in favor.

Carpentry Unlimited bid is vague and does not specify which door is being installed or hardware, Lukens Construction bid is very specific with a 36” steel door with insulated glass, ½ inch light glass with 9 pane gird & nickel hinges. Motion to approve Lukens Construction bid for $1,350 for the Police Department side door due to their bid having additional detail was made by Blake, 2^nd by Retherford; all were in favor.

Utility update: Tree limbs will be 1^st & 3^rd Mondays starting in April, and the crew will start patching pot holes soon.

Town hall will be open tomorrow 3/19/21 from 8am to 7pm for anyone still needing to setup utility payment plans.

Town of Lapel is to pay town utility bills in full if payment plans can be avoided.

Being no further business to discuss, meeting was adjourned.

 

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