We will call to order the Monday, October 12th, 2026 Meet the Allensville Town Council. Pray. Dear Heavenly
Father, please bless us with both wisdom and humility in the decisions we make for this town and for
our residents. And make sure that we put their needs, both all needs, except yours. In your name, amen.
Chief. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all. Roll call whenever you're ready. Scott Oldham. Yes, here. Dennis Walford. William Ellis. Here.
Trevor Sager. Pamela Samples. Here. Minutes from the 928-2026 town council meeting. So moved.
Motion second, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstaining? Action to pay accounts,
payable vouchers, and payroll vouchers. So moved. Second. Motion second, all those in favor say aye.
Aye. Anyone opposed? Any abstaining? There are two resolutions this evening, the first being resolution
25-2026 authorizing the DLGF and Clerk Treasurer to make the necessary 2027 budget adjustments pending
the outcome of the proposed reorganization.
this resolution would allow your clerk treasurer to make, submit, or request such adjustments to the
town's 2027 budget forms as are necessary to implement the budget depending on whether or not
the reorganization referendum passes or not. So it offers alternatives to the clerk treasurer so that
you don't have to go back and re-advertise the budget, reopen the budget,
and your budget is due obviously before the results of the referendum will be known. So if the reorganization
referendum passes, then any reorganization related appropriations will remain as adopted by council
during the budget. The budget amounts for the Ellitsville Richland Township Fire Protection Territory
will be removed from the budget and the town will move forward under the newly reorganized structure
as outlined in the plan. If the reorganization referendum does not pass,
Then the Ellisville Richland Township Fire Protection Territory budget remains as adopted by council.
All town budgets, other than that for fire protection, will revert to 2026 maximum levy levels with
the 2027 maximum levy growth factor applied, thus allowing all proposed increases related to reorganization
to be removed from the budget. The town of Ellisville will continue to operate under its current governmental
structure as a town. And then the Ellisville Richland Fire
Ellitsville Richland Township Fire Protection Tory will move forward as approved by the Council and
the Township Board back in March of this year. That's the questions from Council. Anything from the
public? Seeing nothing online, back to Council. I move that we pass Resolution 25-2026
A resolution authorizing the Ellisville clerk treasurer to make necessary 2027 budget adjustments pending
the outcome of the proposed reorganization. Second. Motion to second. Roll call when you're ready. Yes.
Yes. Pamela Samples. Yes. Motion passes. Next is Resolution 26-2026, police additional appropriation
from the drug grant.
This was submitted by the police department for $21,500 for the Drug Education Equipment Grant. Also
in the packet is the grant that was submitted with the proposal for the additional appropriation. If
you noticed in the packet with the accounts payable, we already have two for drone accessories.
for $13,792.09 and $2,699.10. I did want to note to the council that for transparency purposes, we created
the 2404-4374 radar arms and equipment in that equipment drug grant fund that had previously not been
there to receipt the funds in and also expense them out. Questions from council?
So is the money already in there now or how? Correct. So we have to appropriate. Any direct questions
about the grant would be directed at the police department, though. I just know about the expenditures.
What are we doing? So we were able to get the grant for two additional drones. They came in literally
two days before the parade.
were able to get them up and running and use them at the parade and it was a major asset to be able
to get it up and we could see the entire parade route from our command center. So it'll be a great asset,
not only for our department, but for any other departments in the county that might need help.
Thank you. Okay, any other questions? Anything from the public? And back to council. You wanna do this one?
to approve resolution 26-2026, police additional appropriation for the drug rent fund. I'll second.
I'm sorry. Motion and second. Whenever you're ready. I drank at the wrong time. Scott Oldham? Yes. William
Ellis? Yes. Pamela Samples? Yes. Motion passes.
There are two ordinances on first reading this evening. The first ordinance is Ordinance 2026-16 to
establish a moratorium on the reclassification of residential property from Rural Service District to
Town District after reorganization. So I was asked to put together an ordinance that would essentially
establish a moratorium on shifting certain residential properties from the Rural Taxing District
to the urban taxing district for some period of time after reorganization if it passes in order to give
a couple of election cycles to run through so that, how do I say this? Before any property is moved
from rural to urban, you'll have a full town council with the two new members that has gone through
a full election cycle. So in any event,
What this particular ordinance states is that as of January 1st, 2027, a moratorium on reclassification
shall be in effect and no property that is zoned residential R1, R2, or R3 and located in the rural
district shall be reclassified to the town district unless the owner of the property has submitted a
written petition. The moratorium will not apply to property zoned commercial or industrial,
or property that is subdivided, platted, or developed at the owner's request consistent with the unified
development ordinance or other town ordinances. And what I envision happening is that if there's a request
to transfer property from rural to urban, the request will first go to the plan commission and the planning
department for its thoughts on whether or not it's appropriate, given the services that are being provided
before that request comes before town council.
for consideration. Furthermore, the ordinance states that the ordinance may be amended or repealed only
upon the affirmative vote of the two at-large council members who will be the former township board
members in addition to an affirmative vote of at least three of the remaining town council members.
It terminates automatically if the reorganization does not pass, and it expires of its own accord as
of January 1st, 2031, if the reorganization referendum passes. Okay. Questions, comments? Any comments
from the public?
I'm Andrew Henry. I strongly support this ordinance. I'm actually really grateful for how quickly the
town council was able to move on this. This has been a fairly recent point of some concern, especially
from township residents that I've talked to about whether or not there is a window of opportunity after
reorganization passes for an unbalanced council to unilaterally force properties into the urban service area.
Ordinances are not the Indiana State Constitution. They are revocable. They can be modified and they
can be removed with a proper majority. But I'm very grateful that we are putting this in place because
while I believe in trust, I'm also very glad to have rules. And confidence in the reorganization process
depends partly on very clear guidelines. And this was an area where the plan, while not attempting to
spell out every detail, did leave a fairly large question
of how that would work after your organization passes, and so I'm very glad to see this resolved and
I support it. Thanks. Anyone else? No, do you need a chair? No, I'll be fine, thanks.
Don Dornal, current Township Trustee Board Member. I agree with everything that Mr. Henry said. I think
that some of the Township residences were concerned about that, about the issue of us not having a majority.
and that things could be pushed through concerning their property that they were not willing to have.
So I do think this is a very good ordinance to have in place. So thank you. Thanks. Okay. Anyone else?
Back to Council. All right. I am normally for the public that we know, normally ordinances on first
reading, we got to go to second reading, but there is a procedure in Indiana law so we can
move and pass it. One of the reasons this ordinance came together so quick is because some of the chatter
about us doing things against the will of the township residents that's never even on our radar, so
it never came up. So what this does, first of all, let me outline the concern. The concern was that
if you live in a single family home or an apartment complex, that day one,
we were going to make a move to put you into the higher taxed urban district. That's never been on anybody's
agenda. We've pretty much said new construction or by petition, and that would not qualify
as new construction. The second thing is that this, the concern was that any votes like that, the whole
township should be able to vote on the reps before decisions like that are made.
for existing residents. And I think the whole council agrees. And I know I've had no resistance from
people I've reached out to on the reorganization committee. And I think this just clarifies what our
original intent was. And a lot of things have happened. I always make a joke that a meteor could hit
tomorrow. We can't plan for that. It just happens. And this was not something that was brought up during
the reorganization process. And I think that if you talk to anyone involved,
you'll not find anyone say that was our intention to do what the fear-mongering has said we would do.
So with that, I move that Ordinance Number 2026-16 be submitted for first reading. Second. Motion to
second. Scott Holden. Yes. William Ellis. Yes. Emma Sienkos. Yes. Motion passes.
I move that ordinance number 2026-16 be adopted on the same day in which it is introduced. Second. Motion
and second. Scott Oldham. Yes. William Ellis. Yes. Pamela Samples. Yes. Motion passes. I move that ordinance
number 2026-16 be adopted. Second. Motion and second. Will you ready? Scott Oldham. Yes. William Ellis.
Yes. Pamela Samples.
Motion passes. Move on now to Ordinance 2026-17 to establish salaries for the 2027 budget. Yes, sir.
This is the 2027 budget year salary ordinance. I did want to say for public awareness and to clarify
that the biweekly amounts listed in the salary ordinance represent base pay. It's not necessarily an
employee's total compensation.
Additional compensation such as longevity, certification pay, overtime, and other applicable pay is
not reflected in those biweekly figures. So if somebody is looking on the 100R report on the gateway,
that's where you're gonna see the total compensation per employee. And in the packets for the council,
I do have listed individuals, so you can see, but again, that doesn't include the longevity or any overtime
or anything
certification wise. Back to council. 2026 dash 17 to establish salaries for the 2027 budget. A second
motion second. Quick question. This is on the first reading. Are we wanting to do the same process?
We got off track, that's on me. It's okay. So this is just first reading, it will come back at the next
reading. Awesome. There are no ordinances, I'm sorry, we had double typo here. There were no ordinances
on second reading, there was no old business. Under new business, we have the MCI interlocal agreement.
As you're aware, the town has a interlocal agreement with the county to operate a major crash investigation team.
The team consists of four officers from the county, two officers from the town. The major crash investigation
team can be activated by the sheriff's department upon notification of a major crash. The funding for
this crash investigation team comes through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, and this agreement
and the grant allows the town to submit claims for
training costs, travel time, and also to reimburse the officers when they've worked overtime to respond
to a major crash. And you've seen this agreement before. This is a renewal of the agreement. There were
some minor changes that the county attorney's office suggested, and those are highlighted in yellow.
But that's the nutshell version of the major crash investigation team agreement.
Deputy Chief, do you have anything to say? I just want to add that for the year, the team has responded
to 12 crashes, seven of which were involving fatalities. And they spent $18,000 of their $20,000 grant
money for the year. Questions from counsel? Anything from the public? Sir, step up, please.
My name is Jim Perry. I'm from Ellisville, Abigail Lane. I hate acronyms. MCI stands for what? It ought
to be spelled out in the agenda for the meeting so that we know what we're talking about. MCI stands for?
Okay, that would it would be better for citizens to be able to read major crass Investigation team there
would be MCI which we don't have a clue what it means Thank you Okay seeing none back counsel Yeah, I believe
All right. I'll move to approve the Monroe County Crash Investigative Unit Interlocal Agreement. I'll
second it. Scott Goldham? Yes. William Ellis? Yes. Kamala Samples? Yes. Motion passes. Next is the Monroe
County Animal Control Interlocal Agreement.
County has had with the county for many years now. It is renewed annually and the the way that the costs
are determined is the county makes an effort to determine how many animals have been picked up or surrendered
and of those how many come from the town of Ellisville. And so then the costs that are assigned to the town are
assigned based on a percentage basis of how many animals are surrendered. So this year, the 2027 interlocal
cost calculations for the town are $43,053. I budgeted at exact amount because I received it in May.
I did want to note for the council that we've seen a substantial increase on this as far as the price
per animal. In 2025, we
The agreement amount was $23,158.30. For 2026, if you remember, I had to bring an additional appropriation
back before you because we didn't receive the agreement last year until after the budget had been presented,
and that was for $37,492.00. And I should correct myself. It's the city's shelter, but the county and
the town assist in funding it.
through this agreement. Correct. We're actually paying the county, correct? Yes. So again, this is $43,000,
correct? Correct. So we're paying almost $400 per animal, whether we called animal control to come get
them or whether they were surrendered. I'm not sure how they make the difference between animal control
pickup, surrender, and stray. Who brought in the stray?
Is it a surrender? Is it an animal control? I mean, how are we getting, I have no issue with necessarily
paying for this. It's a question of the equitability. And so just to give everybody a picture, Eltsville
had 10 that animal control came and picked up. They had 34 that were surrenders where it's the owners
taking it to the shelter and surrendering it. It's 69 strays for 113. So of that, we're going to pay
$43,000 plus.
where it lists counties other than Monroe, clearly Animal Control didn't go pick them up, but
362 surrendered, 241 strays, for a total of 603, yet those counties are not assessed any dollar figure,
and they are almost six times, five plus times greater than what the town of Ellsville is. I spoke to
Mr. Cockrell about the, I don't know if it was last year or the year before, the reason
and I hope I'm not misquoting him or giving you bad information, but the reason that the county still
accepts the animals, even if they're coming from other counties like Lawrence or Brown, is because they
just, number one, they don't want the strays out, running the streets, bothering people, and they figure
that it's maybe kinder to bring the animals in as opposed to
I'm just telling you what Mr. Cockrell told me, that's where that's coming from. And I don't necessarily,
and without straying into territory I don't want to go to, I don't begrudge that. We should be doing
the right thing for the animals. I don't mind helping to pay for that. It's just that when our total
is some five times less, and yet we're paying $43,000, but yet there are other areas in the county that
are incorporated that are not paying anything according to this sheet.
to me is some equitability problems, but then again, that's an issue between those people and the county
as a whole, not us. So. One thing, since I'm on the Animal Control Board with the Council's permission,
I would like to get some information on whether we're soliciting the surrender and strays to other counties,
because this number seems extremely high just for random people walking in.
But when you think about it, I don't believe Owen County has a county run animal shelter that have a
humane society. I don't know what Lawrence County has, whether it's animal control or I don't know what
Green County has. So again, I think being humane that the people who get these things, you know, get
these animals in a situation where they can't care for them, where they found them, you know, they get
them in that situation where they have to have something to do with them. And I do get that. I don't
want to not help. I'm just, again,
questioning the cost breakdown and how it spread out amongst everyone. And a couple years ago I did
bring this up and what they had told me is that since they factor in the out-of-county stuff with the
total, it lowers our average per animal, plus they also only factor in 70% of the budget, which kind
of is like they're estimating 30% from other counties.
of the budget, so they try to take care of it that way. I guess my concern is, do we, are we, and this
I didn't ask, and I'm going to the next animal control meeting, I get that people other counties need
an option, but are we advertising out there in those places saying, hey, come to Bloomington to drop
them off? I don't necessarily think that's appropriate. Well, again, not to, you know, take a different
tactic, I would almost rather do that than
Yeah, I do agree. I just I'm just questioning the I Guess the dollar figure as it works because it seems
like we're always we always have this question I mean if we had a huge amount of animal control runs
Absolutely, because we're paying for that person's time their gas to whatever right but 10 is not even
one per month You know the surrenders I get the strays again. Where do we come across those? Is that
animal control run? Is that somebody taking them? I don't know what we're doing that breakdown line
And again, this question's come up before. Just because you have an Ellsville address doesn't necessarily
mean you're in the town of Ellsville currently. Hopefully, at the first of the year, that will be different.
But just like the Ellsville Fire Department actually has a Bloomington address. So when they say, where'd
you surrender this from? Well, I'm from whatever the address is for the Fire Department. Oh, Bloomington,
check. No, it's an Ellsville facility. So do we have some of that going on where there's people at Ellsville
address that don't live in the town that work? I can find that out, too.
It would just be interesting to know. But with that said, any further questions from Council? Anything
from the public? Back to Council for action. I did not see that. Step up, please.
This is an issue in which I would like to see us have further conversations, and certainly William has
done some, you're on the animal control board, is it? And that's a county-wide, yeah. But clearly, it
would be useful, I think, to have the person that's asking for the money from the animal control services,
or animal services, whatever we call it,
present at one of these meetings so we can have this back and forth in this conversation. And that would,
I think, inform not only the council, which I think needs further information about this, as the decision
maker about budget authority, but also citizens who would like to know what's happening. I mean,
one of the, you know, I watch a lot of Judge Judy and I see these $5,000 cases with animal bites and other.
and other things. So 400 is small potatoes compared to what the cost could be, not only to the animals,
and we want to protect the animals, but also the citizens who might be jeopardized by... We need to
work on this microphone. It's annoying. We need a microphone where when someone speaks normally, it
responds appropriately.
Mike. But I will ask Virgil Saunders, who runs the shelter, if he's not the one that can answer these
questions, get me the person that can. Next year, I think, would be a good time for them to come in
here and explain. This is on the agenda tonight. It's not a first or second reading. It's a new business.
As an interlocal agreement, but this is something that would have been worthwhile to have talked about
Months ago before in this very body in this very bill a room. So Thank you No one online back to counsel
Okay, I move to approve Monroe County animal control interlocal agreement I
Motion is second. Whenever you're ready, please. Scott Holdham? Yes. William Ellis? Yes. Pamela Samples?
Yes. Motion passes. If, however, you could get some of those answers to better inform us for next year,
that would be great. Absolutely. Next is Fire Department vacancy positions. Fire Department currently
has one full-time position that is open. And on the 23rd of October, we'll have a second one open.
So what I would like to do, we just went through a hiring process and did all the testing and so forth
and we've got some good candidate that's still on the list. So I would like permission to take the next
two and offer them a contingent offer of employment based on successful completion of their per physical.
Questions? I do have names if you want those. The first one is Coleman Chastain, and the second one
is Corbin Tai. And this is being offered contingent upon successful completing all processes of the
application process up to and including the PERF physical and mental exams. That is correct. So background,
the whole nine yards, they have to pass all of that before? That is correct.
Okay. All right. Motions for council. I will let the public know we're laughing because we got the names
mixed up. We both thought we heard something different, but so I will move to just approve both department
vacant positions as stated for the record from Chief Pat. Coleman, Chastain and Corbin tie. Okay. Second.
Motion is second.
Yes. William Ellis. Yes. Pamela Samples. Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. Next is privilege of Florida.
Anyone have a business of the council not part of the normal agenda this evening? No one online, no
one in chambers. We'll now move to supervisory comments. I'd just like to say I appreciate the board's
quick movement on the establishment of a moratorium on the reclassification. Thanks to Darla for the
quick work.
I really appreciate you guys taking care of that so quickly. Thank you. Chief. Just real quick, we do
have another grant to Smithville to try to attain funds for two speed signs that we could put up around
town to let people know just how fast they're going or if they are following the speed limit. Awesome.
Thank you. Chief, nothing for you. Thank you.
chime in with Shannon. I'm still working on, it's been kind of hard to do whenever he's trying to compare
apples to apples with a radar type, not two type traffic counter. And the one that I'm wanting, they're
a sole providing company. There's no one other one out there like this, the one I'm wanting to try to
get. But it not only reads traffic counts, but it also does the
speed as well. So I can track speed and traffic count as well. So I do have money budgeted earmarked
for that to try to do before the end of the year. And the only difference between that and his is yours
is not visible to the public. Yeah, mine will not be visible. It will not show them a speed of what
they're driving down the road. It'll just be a box that's probably about that big that I can mount on a
signpost or a utility pole anywhere as long as I got a 45 degree angle to the road to be able to track
the vehicle. Awesome. I just wanted to remind the public that our budget adoption meeting is Monday,
October the 19th at 6.30 PM, which will be next Monday. It's outside of our regular meeting schedule.
So I just wanted to remind the public again about that. Anything further?
Okay. Council comments. Just that I hope the public knows that we adopt a budget. We also are going
to feed it and take care of it and give it a home. So it's a proper adoption. Wow. Okay. They don't
bump dad jokes for the win. Seeing no further business for the council, we're adjourned.