Dunkirk OKs pursuit of fire station (09/12/06)

DUNKIRK - Although sentiments were not unanimous, council members Monday night agreed to locate a new combination fire/ambulance station on a 6-acre site in the city's industrial park in hopes of getting a state grant.

The grant application will ask that the new facility be located on city-owned property in the industrial park, Jay County Community Developer Ami Davidson said during Monday evening's public hearing on the issue.

Later at the council meeting, Mayor Sam Hubbard asked for a vote. "I think one of the things as a council we should do, is approve the proposed site for the building.

"We need a vote of the council members on where we stand on this," Hubbard said.

Earlier during the public hearing on the subject at the West Jay Community Center, Hubbard said, "I'm convinced of the importance of a new fire station and EMS facility." The mayor continued that he would rather have the proposed facility in the downtown area, but he realized that for purposes of submitting the $500,000 grant application, the industrial park site, where no demolition work would be required, was preferable. The mayor said he considered this a big but necessary compromise.

Veteran council member Larry Smith went a step further. He cast the lone council vote against the industrial park location.

Earlier, during the public hearing, Smith said that he thought city officials and Davidson should be working on a grant to improve city water quality and service rather than trying to get one for a new fire station.

Improving city water should be the number one priority for any grant applications. "Why don't you get us a grant for that," Smith asked Davidson.

Pam Bunch, a member of the Dunkirk Improvement Committee, said, "We have lost enough downtown. I don't think we should move anything more out of downtown."

Bunch said that she thought the fire station decision was being rushed, and questioned how the grant's local share of $50,000 would be paid, noting that council members also had to consider the issue of budget cuts for city departments Monday night.

Davidson said that the Jay County commissioners have "agreed to front the money" for the project, but they also wanted to discuss pay-back options with the Dunkirk council when it was convenient for both parties to get together.

The city owns the 6 acres of land in the industrial park so that will count towards the local match, but there still is another $50,000 to be raised to qualify for the federal and state Community Development Block Grant which is administered by the Indiana Office of Rural Affairs.

Davidson said the grant application needs to be submitted by Sept. 22, and some sort of arrangement for the necessary $50,000 should be worked out prior to that date.

Dunkirk Fire Chief Steve Fields and several members of his department as well as JEMS representatives spoke in favor of the project and the need for a large site to accommodate the fire and ambulance vehicles as well as allow for room to store equipment and conduct training exercises and classes.

The proposed site for the new facility is east of Clearwater Manufacturing in the Dunkirk Industrial Park which is located along county road 400 South, east of the Dunkirk City Park. A second choice, also in the industrial park, would be to the west of Clearwater Manufacturing where water and sewer lines are already available.[[In-content Ad]]DUNKIRK - Starting next year, city residents and business owners will see an extra $8 charge every month on their water bills. But it won't be going to the water department; it will instead be used to pay for trash collection.

As is the case in several other local communities, this extra fee is being added to the water billing statements to save printing and mailing costs for the city.

Previously, trash collection service expenses were being paid from property tax revenues, but the new arrangement will free up that money for other needed expenses, council members decided Monday night, as they reduced the city's overall general fund budget for 2007 by $135,250.

Mayor Sam Hubbard explained the new trash collection fee arrangement will slash the budget proposal by $109,000. Other cost savings will come from the street department paving fund, $25,000, and making the health and safety officer's position, already part-time, only a six-month job. Health and Safety officer Robert Bicknell's annual pay will drop from $2,500 to $1,250.

The actions were approved by a vote of 3-2 with councilmen Larry Smith and James Doughty casting the negative votes, while council members Craig Faulkner, Connie Whetsel and Tom Johnson voted in favor of the cuts as outlined. Smith said he favored more cuts in the police department, while Doughty said he disagreed with other points in the plan, but didn't go into specifics.

Working with a list of about a dozen possible ways to trim the 2007 budget, council members adopted those three options as well as a conditional hiring freeze, stating that no new employees will be hired without full council approval - possibly reducing the number of city employees by attrition.

Several other ideas on the list of budget-cutting options were discussed but then rejected. This was the case with proposals to have an all-volunteer fire department, centralizing inventories of staple goods and supplies, having city employees pick up leaves in the fall, reducing the police department by one full-time officer, and eliminating local police dispatchers.

One idea which did gain approval from council members was a decision to ease the budget crunch by aggressively pursuing annexation of property in the vicinity of the city, starting with land to the east and southeast of the community.

Plans call for doing the annexations in phases, Mayor Hubbard said, starting with plans to annex an area which includes warehousing facilities for the Saint-Gobain Containers plant. Council members instructed city attorney William Hinkle to begin work on that project as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the ideas of saving $40,000 by reducing the police force by one full-time officer or cutting $90,000 from the budget by eliminating local dispatchers were put on hold.

Councilman Larry Smith spoke out strongly in favor of reducing the police force from six to five full-time officers, noting that many years ago Dunkirk had a larger population and only two full-time police officers.

"I'm sure that we can do away with one officer," Smith said.

Councilman Jim Doughty disagreed, saying that cutting the police force would send the wrong message to city business owners and persons interested in bringing a new business to the city.

"Personally, I'd hate to reduce the police department by even one officer," Hubbard said. He suggested that police department overtime expenses be kept to a minimum.

In other business at Monday night's meeting, council members approved:

•Second and final reading of the salary ordinance for 2007, calling for a 2.5 percent pay increase for full-time hourly workers.

•Second and final reading for a new curfew law which is patterned after one recently approved in Indianapolis.

The curfew ordinance states that except for various conditions, "it is unlawful for a child younger than 15 years of age to be in a public place in the city after 11 p.m. or before 5 a.m. on any day."

Curfew hours for youths between the ages of 15, 16 and 17, will be between 1 and 5 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday, and after 11 p.m. on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday; or before 5 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

•Awarded a contract to area resident Ted Darr for picking up leaves in the city in the fall. Cost for the job will be $2,600. Mayor Hubbard pointed out that Darr did a good job last year.