Safety for local citizens, particularly children, was the focus of the Crothersville Town Council when they met on Tuesday, July 7.
Unsafe swimming pools were addressed.
Councilwoman Karen Mains expressed concern about two East Street residences with pools that have no fence or the fence has fallen over with nails sticking out of it.
One of the houses has been abandoned, she said, and she has seen kids playing on the property. She sees it as a safety issue that needs to be addressed.
Council President Ardell Mitchell said there is no current ordinance forcing people to put a fence around their pool. However, town attorney Travis Thompson said the issue may fall under an unsafe building code.
Mitchell said he would drive by the property to see how it might fit under the unsafe building code.
Members of the Crothersville First Baptist Church got some satisfaction from the council after attending the past three meetings seeking a crosswalk and stop signs for Jackson Street.
The church has facilites on both sides of Jackson Street and children cross between the two. Sometimes children do not look out for traffic; sometimes traffic is not expecting children to cross the street in the middle of the block.
Church representatives had originally sought to have that portion of Jackson Street closed. But when the town was resistant to that procedure, came back with a proposal for mid-block cross walk and stop signs or speed bumps.
Local citizen Lenvel Robinson suggested the church have adults supervise children at the crosswalks much like the school does in the morning and afternoon.
“We have events going on throughout the day. We can’t have peeople there all Sunday long,” said Gary Allen, a church spokesman. “We need something to slow drivers down.”
Speed bumps, much like the town installed on Marshall Drive were discussed but the council was reluctant to use that speed control device.
“If we install them for your church, we will have other churches asking for the same treatment,” said councilwoman Karen Mains.
When the council asked Chief of Police Vurlin McIntosh about the effectiveness of speed bumps, McIntosh reponded, “Speed bumps do slow down traffic. I don’t personally like them, but they do work.”
Mid-block stop signs were rejected by the council. “What motorist expects to stop in the middle of a block?” asked Mains.
In the end the council approved a painted cross walk on Jackson between the church buildings.
“Let’s give the cross walk a chance and see how it works,” said Mains. “I’m for speed bumps but let’s give the crosswalk a chance.
In other matters, four bidders submitted prices for repairing erosion damage on a Moore Street culvert which has undermined the street and sidewalk east of Preston Street.
Brooks & Earl Construction of North Vernon bid $35,000 for the work, Sam Kuehn Construction of Crothersville bid $16,940; Lawyer Excavating bit 19,086; and Dave O’Mara Constracting of North Vernon bid $38,864.
All bids were taken under advisement with a probable contract award at the August meeting.
In other business, the council turned down an offer from the Greater Crothersville Heritage Foundation to donate to the town the Hamacher Hall property to be used as a town hall. While it was declined, the offer stimulated the council to consider other options.
The council said it is not interested in purchasing the present town hall location at 117 East Howard but wants to build a new structure at the old town hall location at 101 W. Howard Street.
However, the police department may be housed in a separate structure. The council is considering renovating the old water treatment plant on North Kovener Street for a police station. Councilwoman Karen Mains also suggested contacting Schneck Memorial Hospital to see if they would donate their former medical building at the corner of Moore & Preston to the town for a police station.
