Streetlights may go dim in Redkey (06/22/07)

REDKEY - Just when financial news seemed to be getting a little brighter here, a proposal to dim half the town's street lights has resurfaced.

Last year during budget deliberations, Redkey council members suggested turning every other street light in town off, as a cost-cutting move. They subsequently trimmed the line item for electricity expenses to cover the cost of street lighting and electric power needs in town buildings.

However, the required number of street lights were not turned off to make the plan work.

Redkey has 177 street lights, town-clerk treasurer Sandy Kirby said. The rates per street light vary, depending on the intensity of the lights, she added, but basically the overall charge per month for street lights is $1,600 per month.

The town's monthly bill for street lighting as well as electricity to service other municipal buildings, such as town hall, averages about $2,000 a month.

Roughly 80 percent of the bill goes for street lighting.

Indiana and Michigan Power Company supplied the town with a map of street light locations and the intensity of the various lights last year, but the town never completed a report about which ones to turn off.

At Thursday night's town council session, Kirby reported, "We're going to run out of money for street lighting in about one more month."

She recommended that money be transferred from other funds, as the original line item for street lighting was cut in half for 2007.

Approximately an additional $12,000 will be needed to keep the street lights at their current level of operation for the remainder of the year, she pointed out.

Town officials said they could no longer find the map which the electric company had supplied, and the report about which lights to shut off was never completed.

Marshal Donnie James and town utilities employee Greg McIlwain were directed to continue working on this report, and if necessary submit a list of individual pole numbers regarding which lights could be turned off. Council members Dixie Toy and Charles Noble volunteered to help with this project, as well.

Also Toy asked Kirby to request a replacement map from I&M.

In addition Kirby said that she would have a resolution ready for the July council meeting, listing where some fund transfers might be possible to keep street lights burning.

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

•Listened to a litany of complaints about the town's police department and Marshal James in particular from Redkey resident Charles Goetz who referred to the local police department as "the James gang" and said he had been told to call the Indiana State Police post rather than the Redkey department if he wanted any assistance.

No representatives from the police department were at Thursday night's council meeting, and the council member in charge of the department, Doug Stanley, was also absent. As a result, Toy asked if Goetz could come to the July 19 council meeting to personally explain his concerns to Stanley.

Goetz agreed with this approach, saying that he thought Stanley was a good man. However, Goetz did not have the same view of the town's police force, charging that they were not doing their job.

"Now you're paying over $100,000 a year for a police department you don't have. What are you going to do about it?" Goetz asked

•Approved closing off a section of streets in the downtown area on Saturday for a classic car cruise-in which will be sponsored by the Redkey Chamber of Commerce. The car show will last from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the downtown area. The registration table will be located near the Redkey Fire Station. Sign-up and set-up will begin at 8 a.m.

•Heard a report from Redkey Fire Chief Randy Young that the annual holiday fireworks display will start at dusk on Saturday, June 30. He added that donations to pay for the fireworks were being accepted in a special Redkey Fireworks account at the MainSource Bank branch in Redkey.

Also the town council approved a $300 donation, depleting its promotional activities fund, to the volunteer fire department's fireworks account.

•Set a public hearing to review information about the town's application for a $500,000 state grant to make water system and tower improvements for the town. This hearing date was requested by Jay County community developer Ami Huffman who will be filing the grant application. The hearing will begin at 6 p.m. July 10 in Redkey Town Hall.[[In-content Ad]]REDKEY - A fuse may have been lit at Thursday night's town council meeting for continued fireworks between Marshal Donnie James and Redkey councilman Charles Noble.

James and Noble engaged in a spirited argument and name-calling exchange at the previous month's council session, with James leaving before the meeting ended.

Thursday, no one from the police department was present when town clerk-treasurer Sandy Kirby told council members the provision for the $900 per year police clothing allowance this year had not been included in the salary ordinance for James and two deputy marshals.

Kirby had prepared a special amendment to the salary ordinance to correct that situation. The three officers were each scheduled to receive half of their uniform clothing allotment at the end of June - $450 apiece.

However, in order to make that happen, a unanimous vote was needed on the salary ordinance amendment from the Redkey council members present at Thursday night's meeting.

Doug Stanley, town council president who supervises the police department, was absent from the meeting.

As Kirby took the roll call vote, council members Dixie Toy, Darrell Smith and Dottie Quakenbush voted in favor of it, but Noble cast a negative vote, meaning the ordinance will have to be brought up for a second reading at the council's July 19 session.

Kirby immediately explained that this means she will not be able to issue clothing allowance checks to the officers until after the July meeting, as opposed to the end of June when they were expecting to receive them. However, Noble remained steadfast about his negative vote.