Redkey hires new employees

REDKEY — The town has new employees.

Redkey Town Council hired Jonathan Cave and Mike Carlin during its meeting Thursday.

It also heard longtime town employee Randy Young, who worked for the street, water and wastewater departments, has resigned.

Council hired Cave — council member Floyd Life dissenting — as a full-time officer. Cave owns and operates The Cave Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts school in Dunkirk, which opened its doors just over a year ago.

“When I heard about the opening here, I jumped right on it because it’s what I’ve always wanted to do,” he said, later noting that he enjoys helping people.

Cave plans to pursue training later on at Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. (Town marshal Zach Moser finished his 10-week training at the academy last month.)

Council agreed to give Cave his full clothing allowance ($1,100) for the year to pay for his police gear and to purchase him a police vest as needed.

Two police department applicants, Taylor Hatzell and Dave Storie, hoped to join as reserve officers for the department. Council member Gavin Grady pointed out that selecting reserve officers is under Moser’s discretion, and Moser voiced support for bringing both Hatzell and Storie on board.

Former town marshal Todd Miller also applied for the position. Miller left the department in May 2022, citing high turnover, high-costing family plan insurance and the department’s lack of a take-home vehicle policy, overtime pay and retirement fund. He had been working with Jay County Probation Office since leaving Redkey Police Department.

Council also agreed to hire Carlin as a utility worker. He’ll work alongside Ted Kolodka, who was hired as a utility worker in June after Young took leave for medical reasons.

Kolodka gave an update Thursday regarding his work with the water and wastewater departments, noting efforts to make changes and cut costs.

He mentioned a water audit conducted July 10 that indicated the town pumped 35 million gallons in 2023, and only 21 million gallons were accounted for.

“So there’s 14 million gallons of water that just somehow disappear, so that’s 40% of the water,” he said, pointing to potential leaks in water mains.  

Alliance of Indiana Rural Water, a nonprofit membership association affiliated with National Rural Water Association, will be checking for leaks in town, he added.

Kolodka also mentioned an ongoing Choice One Engineering master utility study, which should be completed by September, and Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s deadline for Redkey to update the town’s combined sewer overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plan by the end of the year. (The plan needs to address how to handle two CSOs that are currently in violation of Indiana Department of Environmental Management regulations. One starts near Union Street, and the other originates in a rural part of the county just north of town and lets out near Main and George streets.)

Also Thursday, council president Brenda Beaty informed the town that Young resigned July 11 from his multiple departmental roles for Redkey. Young also serves as fire chief for Redkey Fire Department.

“I just want to recognize him and thank him for all his service that he did here in Redkey and for the people of Redkey,” said Beaty.

Council also approved an agreement with Silversmith Data for its asset management system, which included a one-time fee of $7,162 for equipment and the program itself and an annual fee of $2,036.

Brandon Cook of Silversmith Data explained the program allows users to mark various assets — they could range everywhere from utility lines to seasonal Christmas lighting — on an online map, helping with the town’s record keeping. The agreement includes 24-hour technical support, offered in-house, and full-day training sessions for town employees using it. The program also has a public view option which, at the town’s discretion, would allow for online viewing of some of the town’s assets.

“It’s well-needed,” said Beaty, noting the idea came from Alliance of Indiana Rural Water. “It can track all of the vehicles we use in our town, all of that stuff.”

Also Thursday, during a more than two-hour meeting, council members “Watermellon” Jim Phillips, Life, Grady and Beaty, absent Dave Dudelston:

•Adopted an ordinance establishing remaining American Rescue Plan Act dollars allotted to the town — approximately $170,000 — as revenue replacement funds to be used for municipal purposes and updates to the town’s personnel policies, which include performance expectations for town employees, clarification on unexcused absences and violations and other requirements.

•Were reminded Gas Boom Days is coming up Aug. 10 and Aug. 11. Coordinator Mark Leavell pointed out volunteers are still needed for the festival.

•Agreed to move forward with creating a formal rental agreement for members of the public using Redkey Morgan Park’s cabin for events or meetings. Beaty noted Susan Pierce, who had been serving as the cabin’s janitor, has resigned. Council discussed increasing pay for the vacant janitor position and decided to require a $40 cleaning deposit for those renting the cabin.

•Approved the following: purchasing a second replacement valve for the wastewater plant estimated at just over $5,000; a one-year, $2,200 monthly contract with Services By Stouder for mandatory water testing and other state requirements — Kolodka is training to become certified a water operator in order to eliminate the need for the company’s services in the future; annual compliance forms for five tax abatements with Fisher Packing; replacing an outdated water meter at the water plant for about $2,000; seeking a quote for pit covers at the water plant and a quote for how much it would cost to repair the town’s clock tower; purchasing a new laptop and printer from ABS Web Designs for $968.48 to be used by council members at town hall.

•OK’d Brandy Daniels to dig a pond on her Wayne Street property and John Watson to install a shed for storage purposes at his property, 103 E. High St.

•Tabled a request from resident Deb Engle to install a speed bump on the east side of Main Street and to take action against heavy semi traffic on the road, with Beaty noting the town’s attorney will look into legal options.