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Government & School Board

County tax sale set for Oct. 10 in GAR Room

The Huntington County tax sale will be held on Oct. 10 in the GAR room on the second floor of the Huntington County Courthouse. The sale starts at 10 a.m.

Bidders must register prior to the sale, similar to a regular auction. Bidders can preregister and print a list of properties online at www.sri-taxsale.com/. View “Auction info by State,” choose “Indiana” and, under the county list, choose “Huntington County.” Click on the green “Tax Sale” box for a property list.

Markle TC adopts $1.31m budget, salary increases for employees

The Markle Town Council adopted its 2017 budget on a 2-0 vote at its regular meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 21, approving a $1.31 million budget with a tax levy of $424,751. The town’s tax rate is estimated at $1.4824.

Councilman Rick Bower was absent.

The funds, reviewed by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, consist of:

• Casino/Riverboat – $8,264.

• Rainy Day – $150,000.

• General Fund – $846,200.

• Local Income Tax – $65,000.

• Local Road and Street – $12,640.

• Motor Vehicle Highway – $48,957.

Warren council hears about holiday prep

Summer is definitely in the rearview mirror, with Christmas lights and snow plows taking center stage at the Warren Town Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 19.

Christmas lighting on downtown-area buildings “is pretty much done,” reported Lee Poulson, the town’s utility manager. “We’re turning them on to see if they work.”

Town crews are replacing lights that aren’t working, he said, a process that didn’t come without mishap. A faulty connector on one of the light strands started a fire on a light pole, which was quickly extinguished, he said.

Board updates school policies, looks to learning center dedication

In an abbreviated meeting of the Huntington County Community School Corporation Board of School Trustees on Monday, Sept. 12, 47 changes to HCCSC policies in its employee and student handbooks were unanimously approved on second and final reading.

Superintendent Randy Harris said most of the changes are minor, designed to keep the policies of the handbook current.

Changes occurred in a wide range of policy topics, from student immunizations to personnel background checks and mandatory reporting of convictions and arrests of support staff.

Andrews council not happy with Hgtn. Twp.

The Andrews Town Council discussed the Huntington Township Board’s decision to end its fire protection contract with the town at its meeting on Monday, Sept. 12.

Council reviewed a letter sent to the town by Tim Guy, Huntington Township trustee, on Aug. 24 informing the town that the township board had elected to allow the pact between the two entities to expire at the end of the year.

Broadway bridge may re-open sooner than expected

Construction workers swarm the Broadway Street bridge to rehabilitate the deck. A new concrete layer, containing a grid to run electricity, is curing now, with plans to finish and open the bridge back up to traffic within the next six months.
Photo provided.

Work on rehabilitating the well-traveled Broadway bridge is moving along, and officials say it may be ready for traffic again sooner than expected.

Huntington County Highway Department Superintendent Troy Hostetler says the new bridge deck has been finished – including an electrified field.

“They’re putting in what’s called cathodic protection which is basically where they run electricity through it, to try and keep it from deteriorating so fast,” he explains. “Then they ended up pouring almost six inches of new concrete on top.”

State accounting change aside, city budget actually 3 percent higher for 2017

Sometimes, numbers can be deceiving

And Huntington Clerk-Treasurer Christi McElhaney says that's the case with the numbers on the budget worksheet for 2017 that she presented to members of the Huntington Common Council on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

The worksheet shows a $2 million decrease in the city budget from 2016 to 2017, a drop of about 8 percent.

But McElhaney says the $2 million has never really existed in cold, hard cash, and that the city budget for 2017 will actually increase by about 3 percent.

Local watershed to hold steering meeting Sept. 13

The Lower Salamonie River Watershed will hold a steering committee meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Huntington County Soil and Water Conservation District office, 2040 Riverfork Drive, Huntington.

The steering committee will evaluate applications for the Lower Salamonie River cost-share program and update the final report. Questions and concerns from committee members and other stakeholders present will be heard.

The meeting is open to the public.

Executive session for school board today

The Huntington County Community School Corporation Board of School Trustees will meet in an executive session Monday, Sept. 12, at 5:30 p.m. at Horace Mann Education Center.

The purpose of the closed meeting is to discuss a job performance evaluation of individual employees.

The regular school board meeting will follow at 7 p.m. in the boardroom at Horace Mann Education Center, 2485 Waterworks Rd., Huntington.

Roanoke council schedules fall clean-up for Oct. 8

The Roanoke Town Council scheduled a date for the town’s fall cleanup day at its meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 6.

The board opted for Saturday, Oct. 8. On that day, Republic Services, the town’s waste collection contractor, will place bins at town hall and citizens may dispose of refuse there. Council discussed ways to prevent non-Roanoke residents from using the bins, which has been a problem in the past. Stationing a police officer at the site was discussed, as was purchasing a sign that states the bins are for local use only.

In other business:

Set second special BOW meeting on Sept. 6

The Board of Public Works and Safety of the City of Huntington will hold a second special meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 3:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, on the third floor of the City Building, 300 Cherry St., Huntington.

The purpose of the second meeting is to allow bids to be formally received.

This meeting is in addition to a special meeting already set for 11 a.m. on Sept. 6 in Council Chambers.