Agreement approved

A local business will get some help as it looks to expand its services.

Portland City Council approved an economic development agreement Monday with Harmony Cafe and Studio.

Jay County Development Corporation executive director Ceann Bales presented the details of the agreement, which includes an $18,000 loan for the business owned by David Fennig.

The loan would have a 10-year term with no interest for the first five years. Interest would then kick in at 1% over prime.

Bales said Fennig plans to add equipment, including additional sink space, in order to expand his wedding catering branch of the business.

Council members Kent McClung, Michele Brewster, Matt Goldsworthy, Mike Aker, Dave Golden, Ashley Hilfiker and Ron May unanimously approved the agreement.

Later in the meeting, Golden thanked Fennig for his investment.

“That’s what we hope for,” he said.

Bales also reported to the council that she has discussed infill housing with Mayor Jeff Westlake — he was absent from the meeting — and is working with the city to acquire four properties from Jay County Commissioners. The properties have already gone through the tax sale process twice without being purchased.

She said the goal is to get the properties to Portland Economic Development Corporation, remove any structures and then offer them as an incentive to developers to build new homes.

Dunkirk recently began the same process, with Dunkirk Industrial Development Corporation acquiring 19 properties.

City attorney Wes Schemenaur cautioned that there will be costs involved for the city and that there is still a waiting period — it is 120 days by Indiana Code — before modifications could be made to the properties.

Council members, following a comment from Golden, also again discussed the possibility of a single police and emergency responder dispatch unit in the county. Currently, both the city and county have dispatch units, and Dunkirk also has an employee who dispatches during limited hours. Golden said he is interested in exploring the option because of potential cost savings.

The council agreed to work on setting up a meeting with Jay County Commissioners and consultant Barry Ritter, who is working with the county on the implementation of its new radio system.

The remainder of the meeting was taken up by council members commenting on various items:

•Goldsworthy said he’d like to see the city’s police department look into cameras from Flock Safety. The devices can be placed at intersections to read license plates in order to locate suspects or missing persons. (Winchester is already using the devices and Randolph County recently approved purchasing them.)

•Hilfiker thanked Jay County Chamber of Commerce for hosting Friday’s Merchant Trick-or-Treat and the police officers who were on patrol that evening.

•May brought up several issues:

   —Pointing out that funding approved for the county’s planned housing development on the west side of the city will come from the cumulative capital development fund, which falls outside of the regular operating budget.

   —Asking about extending sidewalks from the Seventh Street bridge over the Salamonia River. Clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips explained that the city is looking at options  to do so and that the sidewalk along the bridge had to be completed during its reconstruction. (He also asked again about the multi-use path along Blaine Pike.) McClung suggested that the city look at what it can do to fill gaps between paths to make them more useful to residents.

   —Complaining, again, that the city is not doing enough to deal with people who entered the country illegally.

   —Expressing concern about the various tort claims against the city, specifically one from former police officer Patrick Long. He referred to the allegations against Portland Police Chief Dustin Mock and investigator Jeff Hopkins, which include attempts at coercion and threats regarding a state police investigation, as “disturbing.”

   —Revisiting the issue of who is in charge of the council’s agenda and whether the mayor can remove items. Schemenaur said the council sets the agenda.

   —Lamenting the amount of hate in the world, saying he is no longer going to talk about national politics and noting that he cannot impact them at the local level.