Redkey sells police pick-up (12/22/06)

REDKEY - For a change, council members here had cheerful news to celebrate at their monthly meeting Thursday, before they adjourned to celebrate the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Clerk-treasurer Sandy Kirby opened an envelope with an offer of $17,258 for the police department's 2002 Ford F250 four-wheel drive, extended cab, pick-up truck and snow plow attachment.

The council has been trying to sell the truck and snow plow since the fall, placing advertisements in various newspapers to no avail.

Council members had set a minimum bid of $17,000 for the truck and snow plow attachment combination.

Thursday night's offer came from Jim Millikan of Millikan Auto Salvage, rural Dunkirk, and council members unanimously voted to accept it. If they had not received an acceptable offer Thursday night, the truck would have been used as a trade-in vehicle on the city's new police car which was recently delivered from Ken Kunkle Chevrolet-Cadillac.

The dealership had offered a trade-in price of $15,000 for the truck and snow plow attachment.

Millikan submitted the only offer to buy the truck and snowplow combination.

Bill Watson Jr. of Redkey submitted a quote of $2,200 for just the plow.

More good news at the meeting came from town attorney John Brooke, who reported that his Muncie law firm was once again giving the town a discount on its annual bill for legal services.

Brooke said the total bill would be somewhere between $7,000 and $8,000, and the firm intended to take $5,000 off that amount as a way of helping Redkey with its financial problems.

"I know the town needs it, so we're willing to do that," Brooke said.

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

•Listened to a presentation from Ami Huffman, Jay County Community Developer, who said she and her staff were willing to assist the town with grant applications and other related matters. She said she would not charge any fee for her services which are funded through Jay County Development Corporation by Jay County.

"If I can be of any assistance to the town, I'd be more than happy to assist you," she said.

•Agreed to make several budget fund transfers, as recommended by Kirby, to cover year-end expenses in the town's administrative, police and fire departments.

This move allowed for the purchase of almost $2,400 worth of various equipment for the police department as proposed by Marshal Donnie James.

These items range from a body armor vest to police tape, a digital audio recorder, an additional office desk and a Big Easy unlocking-doors kit.

Also as a result of the budget fund transfers, the fire department will be able to purchase approximately $2,400 in needed supplies including fire hoses and fittings, Fire Chief Randy Young said.

Also Thursday night Young reported that he had been elected fire chief for another year by the Redkey volunteers. In addition Don Knisely was re-elected to serve as department secretary-treasurer for another year.

•Agreed to establish a no-parking area for the south side of High Street between Oak and Railroad Streets, directly across from the fire station bays. This will make it easier for the firefighters to maneuver the pumper trucks in and out of the station.

•Unanimously approved the salary ordinance for 2007 with no raises for elected officials or town employees. Town council members will each receive $1,200 annually.

Other annual salaries are clerk-treasurer, $22,585; town marshal, $28,807; deputy marshals, $26,113 each; street and maintenance superintendent, $26,233; water and wastewater superintendent, $28,775; part-time office assistant, $8 per hour not to exceed $10,984 for the year.

•Reviewed possible ordinance changes relating to mobile home requirements and the adoption of a curfew law for juveniles. No action was taken on these matters which were tabled for more discussion at a future meeting.

•Noted that the Redkey Chamber of Commerce has scheduled monthly meetings for 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Redkey Park Cabin. Dues will be $15 a year for an individual and $25 for a business.

•Noted that the terms of council members Violet Erlenbush and Joyce Harshbarger will expire at the end of the year. The new council members will be Doug Stanley and Charles Noble, who were both present as observers at Thursday night's meeting.[[In-content Ad]]