MENTONE – Unkempt properties and town employee salaries were two of the larger issues the Mentone Town Council discussed Wednesday night.
The town has been trying to get the properties at 412 W. Main St. and 408 W. Monroe St., owned by Eddie Tridle, cleaned up for some time. Town attorney Andrew Grossnickle previously sent certified letters out that were never claimed. On Aug. 12, he sent a letter again to a P.O. Box in Indianapolis by regular mail that was reworded to address both properties.
“I’ve not gotten a response back from anybody on that,” Grossnickle told the council. He gave them 15 days to respond.
Asked to further explain the issues with the property, Town Marshal Jim Eads said the Main Street property has been vacant for years.
“We’ve attempted over the years to stay after him to keep it mowed to the point where we don’t get any response,” Eads said, adding that the utility and street department has mowed it so the weeds aren’t near the sidewalk or road.
A storm earlier this year took out part of a tree on the Monroe Street property and it’s still hanging in the tree, Eads said.
“At some point it’s a little bit dangerous there. We’re trying to get that cleaned up, if nothing else. Those properties there aren’t maintained and mowed,” he said, noting that’s what spurred the town to go through its attorney to try and get those properties taken care of because law enforcement can’t get a response.
Utilities Superintendent Josh Shepherd asked for a clarification on when the town could address the properties and then try to collect its costs from the property owner.
Grossnickle said Tridle had 15 days from the date of the letter, which already passed. The way the town ordinance reads, after 15 days the town has the authority to have it cleaned up to conform to the town ordinances. The costs and expenses will be borne by the owner. If the owner doesn’t pay up, a lien can be put against the property.
“So at this point they’ve already been put on notice. I’ll double check tomorrow, and if everything looks clear on no return mail, then the town has the option of cleaning it up and sending a bill,” Grossnickle said.
With the helicopter event at the museum on Saturday, Shepherd said he was concerned about people parking near the property.
Eads mentioned that all structures on the properties had open doors. Grossnickle asked if they were even inhabitable, and Shepherd said the one on Main Street definitely wasn’t. Grossnickle suggested the health department could be called out to look at and possibly condemn the properties. Councilman Tim Croy said the property on Monroe Street had a condemned sign on it for a long time but the sign disappeared though the property was “as junky as it ever was.” Grossnickle said at some point, the question was if the building itself was becoming a nuisance.
Shepherd said if Grossnickle gave him the OK today, he’d take care of the tree on Monroe Street and bill it out.
Later in the meeting, the council addressed the salary ordinance for the utility department. Gross said Shepherd’s current salary is $46,900 and Corbin Hudson’s was $35,000.
She said she did some research to compare Mentone’s utility workers’ salaries with those from similar-sized towns. Mentone’s population was 973 as of 2017.
She proposed and made a motion for Shepherd’s salary to be bumped up to $50,000 and Hudson’s be raised to $40,000.
“I think we’re very under everyone else compared, and if we want to keep good workers, we’ve got to pay them, and this is a start,” Gross said. Croy seconded her motion.
Eads asked Gross, “So how come this much work wasn’t put in looking at ours?”
Gross told him he usually does that. Eads said that wasn’t true. “We raised Sam’s,” Gross countered, adding that it was Eads who previously said if the town wanted to keep someone good they had to pay them.
Eads said he’ll stand by that comment, but, “So, with that, 25 years here, doesn’t mean anything?” Gross said he gets an annual raise, too.
“I’m at $50,000. It took me 25 years to get there,” Eads responded. “Not one of you has said thank you for 25 years.”
Gross said the council had, but Eads argued they hadn’t.
The motion was approved 3-0.
Before the regular meeting, the council held a public hearing on the town’s proposed 2020 budget. It includes $514,450 for the general fund; $17,200 for local roads and streets; $90,900 for motor vehicle highway; $20,200 for cemetery; $2,500 for cumulative capital improvement; $20,000 for cumulative capital development; $105,000 for county economic development income tax; $30,000 for rainy day fund; and $10,000 for the riverboat fund.
The council will adopt the budget at its next meeting at 6:15 p.m. Oct. 2.
In other business:
• Halloween trick-or-treat hours will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Gross said the town received a letter about a dog running loose in town. Eads said he will have to explain to the dog owner that the dog needs to stay on the property.
• Shepherd updated the council on the east side garden. He said the concrete was poured and thanked the Mentone Chamber of Commerce for paying the $1,800 for it. The Millers poured it. He was still waiting on a quote for fencing.
• Croy thanked Brian Iddles for his caretaking of the town park. Someone did some more graffiti on the picnic tables under the back pavilion, and Iddles purchased paint himself and repainted the tables.
Iddles also got a tote and put basketball, football and soccer balls in it for the park for people to use. Croy said people are using the balls and returning them to the tote. “I’d like to thank Brian for doing that,”?Croy said.
• Krueger said the last day for the Farmers Market for the season is Oct. 12.
