Published: July 23, 2008 09:19 am      

Old grain elevator worries town

Officials say structure is a fire hazard

VEEDERSBURG, Ind. — The town council is concerned with the dangers and hazards presented by the old grain elevator in town.

Councilman Bob Barker brought up the issue at Tuesday night’s town council meeting.

The council discussed the dangers possible if the old elevator was to ever catch on fire. The elevator is rather tall so burning debris could blow all over.

Barker said he had spoken with town Fire Chief Terry Shields, who promised he would write a letter to the elevator’s current owner, Robert Simonton, declaring the elevator a fire hazard.

Barker is seeking bids to demolish the building. Town council president, Ken Smith, said the town’s main concern currently is the old elevator.

“It is an eyesore and a public safety hazard,” Smith said. “We are checking out all possible avenues to get it torn down.”

In other business, town council members:

-- Heard from town Superintendent Paul Keeling about some of the problems with the primary lift station. A leak was repaired, but now one of the electric starters has burnt up.

-- Approved the bid from Hesler Paving & Contracting Inc. of Veedersburg for some street work on a section of Washington Street, a section of South Newlin Street, and the alley behind Tom Reese’s building in downtown.

Hesler will tear out the old surface and replace it with new binder and surface. The total cost of the three projects is $22,105.

-- Reviewed bids for necessary cleaning and repair work needed at the town’s No. 1A well and No. 4 well. Tim Hill with Midwest-Peerless Inc. of Westfield said that besides cleaning, both well pumps need to be pulled out and serviced. Midwest-Peerless was awarded the project with a $19,900 bid to clean both wells and a $22,603 bid to repair both well pumps.

The town also received bids from Ortman Drilling of Kokomo and Reynolds Inc of Indianapolis. Ortman bid $25,286 to clean both wells and $20,272 to repair both wells. Reynolds bid $22,948 to clean both wells and did not submit a quote for the repair work. The council chose Midwest since they have worked for the town in the past.

-- Granted permission to the Fountain Trust Co. to put in a temporary office trailer on Railroad Street while its permanent building is under construction. Bank President Kip White said that progress on their new building is going much slower than anticipated, but they would like to get their business going in town.

-- Heard from resident Irene Clore who would like the city to remove a tree near her house. Clore said the tree was hit by lightning several years ago, and the town cleaned up what was broken from the tree at the time. Clore said that now the whole tree is rotten and hazardous to her home on Washington Street in Sterling.

-- Heard from resident Ryan Davis who wanted to know if the town could install a storm drain near his home at Ninth and Meridian streets in Veedersburg. A lot of rain water runs onto his property after heavy storms. Councilman Steve Cates agreed that a catch basin probably needs to be installed. Keeling will check into the matter.

-- Approved salary increase of 50 cents per hour for hourly employees and salaried employees an annual raise of $1,040. The raises will go into effect Jan. 1, 2009.

-- Learned that letters have been sent to the tenant and the owner of the house at 213 Chambers St. because the property is a mess with trash and junk. The owner has 15 days to comply before the town cleans it up and bills the owner for the work.

-- Discussed the problem of Phelps Bros.’ leaky garbage truck. The liquid that leaks out of the truck stinks for a very long time. Complaints have come in from all over Veedersburg about the problem. Town Marshal Neil Beck has contacted Phelps Bros. about the concern.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Veedersburg Town Council will meet at 6 p.m. EDT Aug. 12 at the Veedersburg Municipal Building.