Crothersville Clerk-Treasurer Terry Richey (left) administers the oath of office to the new Crothersville Town Council; Lenvil ‘Butch Robinson, Robert ‘Bob’ Lyttle, Chad Wilson, Danieta Foster, and Brenda Holzworth.
It was a history setting but a relatively brief first of the year meeting of the Crothersville Town Council last week, over in just over 30 minutes.
Prior to the council meeting on Jan. 5, clerk-treasurer Terry Richey administered the oath of office to five town council members who took their seats as the expanded local government. Since the town’s founding in 1892, three members served on the council, originally called the town board.
Crothersville voters elected Lenvel “Butch” Robinson, Chad Wilson, Bob Lyttle, Danieta Foster and Brenda Holzworth to the council.
Much of the meeting was spent handling annual appointments and learning about ongoing town projects.
The new council elected their lone incumbent, Lenvel “Butch” Robinson, to serve as its president. Robinson was elected to his second term in town office in November. Chad Wilson was elected vice president.
The council appointed members and town residents to other positions during the meeting.
Wilson and fellow council newcomer Brenda Holzworth will join Ben Spencer, chief of the Crothersville-Vernon Township Volunteer Fire Department, on the unsafe building committee.
The council appointed Brent Turner, Chris Cooper, Matt Browning and Ronnie Foster to the parks board. A fifth member is appointed by the school corporation each year in April, and school board member Linda Luedeman currently is serving on that board.
The council re-appointed Robinson to the Jackson County Solid Waste Management District committee; Curt Kovener as the town’s representative on Jackson County Industrial Development Corp., and Jeff Lorenzo, as town attorney.
Charles Densford was appointed as the town’s Indiana Department of Homeland Security representative.
The council was updated by town engineer Brad Bender of FBPH on town sewer and construction projects ongoing and the town’s obligations under the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) mandate by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).
Bender said FPBH has been monitoring surface water infiltration into sanitary sewer system and hopes to have a reduction plan drafted by the end of January. “Crothersville is one of the smallest communities under the CSO mandate and fortunately an affordability analysis is included in the plan,” said Bender.
Trena Carter of Administrative Resources association (ARa) the town’s grant writing and administration firm brought the council up to date on a soon-to-begin housing rehabilitation grant program for low income and elderly and discussed coming deadline for grant applications for planned sewer and storm water projects.
“The Housing Grant is a go but has been delayed by the state,” Carter reported. “Proposals for a storm water grant of up to $500,000 are due by late March.”
Starting with the Feb. 2 meeting, the council will meet beginning at 6 p.m. at town hall, 117 E. Howard St.
The council unanimously voted to conduct monthly meetings a half-hour later than previous years but remain meeting on the first Tuesday of the month.
The council conducted its first executive session on Thursday to interview five applicants for a vacancy on the town police department. A special meeting was expected to be held this week to officially hire a new officer.
