MACK for MAYOR

Source: The Herald Online Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Jasper Board of Public Works and Safety met Tuesday and:>

• Heard from Charlie Schneider, the city’s personnel, safety and loss prevention director, that a new law going into effect requires companies hired by local municipalities to use the E-Verify system to confirm that employees are working legally. E-Verify, which was already mandatory for municipalities but voluntary for most other employers, is an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security partnered with the Social Security Administration to confirm whether a person is authorized for employment. As of July 1, all companies contracted to do a job for a state agency or political subdivision must verify newly hired employees’ work eligibility status so the city will have to include that specification in any future contracts.
  
  
• Agreed to pay Ohio-based Sutphen Corp. $409,668 for a new fire engine pumper truck for the Jasper Volunteer Fire Department.
  
  
• Accepted the sole quote of $230,430 from Orleans-based Trademark Utility Systems LLC to repair and replace storm sewers in the Badendorf area.
  
  
• Heard a reminder from Fire Chief Kenny Hochgesang about rules for Fourth of July festivities, including that anyone setting off fireworks must be 18 or older or have adult supervision. Hochgesang also reminded people that all fireworks must be discharged on one’s own property unless someone has written permission to do so on another’s property. Fireworks may be set off between 9 a.m. and midnight July 4 and from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. all other days.
  
  
• Agreed to recommend to the Jasper Common Council that truck traffic weighing more than 10,000 pounds be restricted from driving on 28th Street between Leslie and Howard drives. The board also agreed to recommend that the intersection of 47th Street and Portersville Road be a four-way stop, rather than a two-way stop. Both recommendations came after conducting traffic studies at the request of a member of the public.
  
  
• Heard that salt will cost the city $64.25 a ton this winter through the statewide salt bid, $4.91 more than it cost last year. The city reserved 1,100 tons of salt for this winter and is required to ultimately purchase 80 percent of that, or up to 120 percent of it if necessary.
  
  
• Heard from Street Commissioner Raymie Eckerle that his department is conducting another round of testing and treatment for mosquitoes. He reminded the public that mosquitoes rarely travel more than 300 feet from where they are born, so anyone having a problem with the insects should check around the property for areas where water has pooled. Stagnant water trapped in a tree trunk or clogged downspout can be an ideal breeding area for mosquitoes, he said.
  
  
• Heard from Eckerle that the city did not receive permission from the state to burn excess storm debris the city has collected in the past few months. Instead, the city will grind the tree limbs. Eckerle also noted that while his department tries to help residents by waiving typical bundling requirements for yard waste after a big storm, people have been abusing the relaxed rules and taking the opportunity to trim their trees and pass off the results as storm damage. Eckerle said the city has limited resources and the additional yard waste eats up time and manpower.
  
  
• Granted Eckerle permission to block off parking spaces in parts of the Courthouse Square as needed to facilitate required maintenance on the road.
  
  
• Granted Police Chief Doug Tarvin permission to begin the process to hire a part-time administrative assistant for the police department, to replace an administrative assistant who has left the department.
  
  
• Agreed to extend the city’s contract with K-9 officer Mike Stallman, who works with and takes care of the city’s K-9 unit, for another six months. The new contract will be in effect July 1 to Dec. 31.
  
  
• Acknowledged the Dubois County Substance Abuse Council for two grants, a $764 grant for materials for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program and a $1,500 grant to be used toward the purchase of a new in-car video camera.
  
  
• Gave Tarvin and Assistant Chief Nathan Schmitt permission to attend the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Chicago for five days in October.
  
  
• Granted a request to allow Holy Family School to display up to four cardboard boats on the sidewalk around the Courthouse Square from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 23. The display is intended to promote the school’s cardboard boat regatta event planned for Saturday, Aug. 13.
  
  
• Heard from Jeffrey Mack “Mack“ Steffen, local business owner and independent candidate for mayor, about some safety concerns he has about the Square. Steffen expressed concern at an earlier meeting about stairs leading to the basement of a building on Fifth Street needing a railing or barrier to keep children safe; Mayor Bill Schmitt said he’d investigated and agreed the area poses a safety risk and that he will talk to the property owner.
  
  Schmitt also told Steffen that the city will contact a property owner who has a flower pot hanging too low over the sidewalk, another safety concern that Steffen had brought up. Steffen also suggested that the sidewalk along the south side of West Sixth Street be continuous from Newton Street to CVS Pharmacy. Schmitt told Steffen that the area falls in the state’s right of way.
  
  

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