Geneva staggers terms of town officials (01/03/07)

GENEVA - This southern Adams County community will no longer run the risk of having all new officials running the place.

Shortly after Tuesday night's meeting began, town attorney Chris Harvey was asked how terms for town council members could be staggered, and nearly two hours later - after feverishly working on a nearby computer in the town hall and checking Indiana codes - he presented the council with an ordinance to change the way council members serve.

"It will have to be acted on tonight to be effective this year," Harvey advised council members.

"This is one of the best ordinances I've had the chance to pass in Geneva," council president, Michael Schwartz said after the vote. "We've been talking about it for eight years and we did it in two hours tonight."

With all three councilmen as well as clerk-treasurer, Doug Milligan, up for re-relection this year, the issue was one of concern for town officials.

To get the process going, the ordinance, adopted after council suspended the rules and passed it in one reading, now calls for all four positions to be elected in 2007. Then one council member - with Schwartz volunteering to be that member - and the clerk-treasurer being elected again in 2008 to serve a four-year term.

The two remaining councilmen (districts 2 and 3) elected in 2007 will serve three-year terms, subject to re-election in 2010 for a four-year term.

Also included in the lengthy discussion was the possibility of changing voting districts or eliminating them altogether. A decision on that possibility will be placed on the ballot and left up to the to voters this year, the council decided.

Schwartz said changing the district boundaries could lead to more residents being interested in running for office.

See Staggers page 5

Continued from page 1

"This may open the door for more candidates," he said.

Geneva is currently divided into three districts with a councilman serving from each of the districts.

Additionally Tuesday night council members approved proceeding with the storm water drainage project at Winchester Road and Spring Street. That project, mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, will reduce the flow of storm water from approximately 12 acres of land into the town's sanitary sewer system.

Andy Yoder, owner of Yoder Construction, Geneva, said he could do the project at a maximum cost of $22,000 and if any of the work is done by town employees, that cost could be even lower and he was given the go-ahead by council members.

Council members also learned that the Geneva Public Library's request for a grant to remodel the facility had been turned down by the state, and Milligan said the town's proposed fire station renovation would now be "moved to the top priority."

For the past several months, the town had been looking at remodeling the station on East Line Street, but with the library's request for a grant in place, the chances of the fire station project being funded were not certain.

"I've started a planning grant," Milligan said. The fire station is now the top priority. Everything is set to go."[[In-content Ad]]