The Ellettsville Town Council approved more than $35,000 in expenditures Feb. 11 when Wastewater Treatment Plant Manager Jeff Farmer and Ellettsville Town Marshal Tony Bowlen petitioned it to purchase replacement items.
President Scott Oldham, Vice President Dan Swafford, and Councilmen David Drake and Philip Smith presided over the meeting. Councilwoman Dianna Bastin was absent.
Bowlen asked the council to approve the purchase of a Dodge Charger to replace a 2003 Crown Victoria for the Ellettsville Police Department. The car will come from Fletcher Chrysler Dodge in Franklin, Indiana, and will cost $22,632. Bowlen also requested a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty with zero deductible for $2,475.
“I hope to return later in the year and ask for another. Right now, the (Cumulative Capital Development Fund) doesn’t have enough cash that I feel comfortable spending that much. I don’t want to run the fund down that low,” Bowlen said. The town marshal added that he expected to ask for another car in June after the next tax draw.
The town council approved the purchase 4-0. The retired vehicle will go to auction on eBay after the new vehicle is purchased.
Farmer wanted to replace a 15-year-old push camera with one that cost $10,002.10. The new camera will be used to televise the sewer lines at the wastewater treatment plant.
“I actually checked on two different cameras. We actually want the more expensive camera. It’s a better camera. It fits our existing equipment. We just think it would be a better purchase, money well spent,” Farmer told the council.
He said the wastewater treatment plant had kept the older camera well beyond its usefulness as improved technology rendered it antiquated, and it was investing too much into keeping the device working.
“We’re spending up to $1,000 a year just on keeping it going, but those repairs are not lasting very long, so we thought it was time to retire it,” Farmer added.
“It seems like you’re getting a lot more for your money, even though we’re only spending $2,100 more,” Oldham observed.
The purchase was approved 4-0.
Farmer also approached the council about replacing the roof on the sludge storage barn at the wastewater treatment plant, but that issue was tabled until the next council meeting.
The request spurred the Ellettsville Town Council to take a closer look at the Ellettsville Town Code’s wording regarding purchases as it was unclear whether the Town Council, as purchasing agent for the town, must approve all purchases or just those above a certain cost.
“It talks in terms of less than $25,000 or more than a certain amount. It probably wouldn’t hurt to update the Town Code to exclude (certain purchases),” Town Attorney Darla Brown said.
Swafford commented that it is helpful when supervisors come to the council to inform them of things that are happening in the town. Oldham worried, however, that the town’s role as purchasing agent could lead them to having to approve everyday things such as fuel purchases.
Other business for the council included changing the language in the Town Code regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act to more clearly reflect the rights of disabled Americans, rezoning a parcel of land from commercial to residential and the approval of a resolution that declared Feb. 18 through Feb. 24 Tri Kappa Week.
The next meeting of the Ellettsville Town Council will be held at the Ellettsville Fire Department in the conference and training room at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 25.
Originally published in Ellettsville Journal, 2013. Republished here for archival and portfolio purposes.