EDUCATION
May 19, 2021 at 12:39 a.m.
By Amanda Bridgman-
Jefferson Elementary School sixth-graders Savannah Purdy and Jocelyn Luecke appeared virtually Tuesday to ask the Council for help in eliminating E.coli from Cherry Creek.
They and their classmates put together a YouTube presentation for the Council that discussed their STEM project of water testing.
The children asked the Council to help them educate people who come by Cherry Creek about the need to pick up after their pets.
“We need to stop pet waste from getting into the water. People need to pick it up,” the students said in the video, saying the amount of E. coli in the creek is rated at “too numerous to count.”
The students further said they completed brochures and posters at school and asked the Council to come help them display them along the creek.
Town Manager Craig Allebach said the Council will absolutely help them in any way they can.
“We do have several doggie pots along our greenway and along Cherry Creek,” Allebach noted of the stations that provide waste bags for pet walkers. “We have eight or nine, and we’re putting one at Christ Covenant pretty soon.”
Allebach said the Council will consider putting another doggie pot or a brochure site at the creek.
The Council also heard from a man who said he lives on Fourth Avenue and College and is concerned about the increasing number of children playing outside paired with the high traffic and speeds.
“I’ve come to ask for help,” Jim Baucom said. “We’d like to either have some stop signs at Fifth Avenue north and south or speed bumps along the way. The stop on Fourth is constantly ran by people. People don’t stop at all, they just fly right through it.”
Town Marshal Joe Hawn said his department put a speed board up in the area after other residents filed complaints with Town Hall and monitored the traffic for three days last weekend.
“I was shocked by the number of cars going through there,” Hawn said. “I had no idea there were that many cars. But, we didn’t see speeds at excessive speed.”
Hawn said the area is 25 mph, and his department found one excessive speeder between 6 and 7 a.m. going 42 mph.
“But the average speed was 18,” Hawn said. The Council agreed to take Baucom's request for stop signage or speed bumps under consideration and provide an answer at June’s Council meeting.
In other business, the council:
• Approved a 48-month lease for a Bobcat skid loader for the street department to use at a cost of $52,000, with monthly payments of $733.
Allebach said the machine will come with attachments, and the department already has a Bobcat tool cat.
“So what it makes it nice with Bobcat is we can use various attachments,” Allebach said, adding that the town has been taking inventory of equipment at the street department and realizing they have workers with skill sets that can’t be utilized because of lack of proper machinery.
“Some projects have been jobbed out to other companies, and we’re already seeing fairly significant savings because of more we’re able to do internally versus jobbing it out. This (lease) allows us to do even more,” he said.
• Took under advisem*nt a standard operating procedures for the Winona Lake Police Department presented by Hawn. Hawn said his department has been working on getting a set of SOP’s up to snuff for the past two years. The council will take action on the plans at June’s meeting.
• Heard a report from town engineer Aaron Carl that the water main project is approved to go out for bid from Lakeland Christian Academy to Raccoon Run. Allebach said the water line pipes are being increased from 12 to 16 inches because the town anticipates further expansion to the east and Indiana American Water has agreed to cover the additional capacity for that line with no upcharge.
• Announced the parks programs begin June 6 and the splash pad opens the Friday before Memorial Day.
The next Winona Lake Town Council meeting is 6 p.m. June 15 at Town Hall.
Jefferson Elementary School sixth-graders Savannah Purdy and Jocelyn Luecke appeared virtually Tuesday to ask the Council for help in eliminating E.coli from Cherry Creek.
They and their classmates put together a YouTube presentation for the Council that discussed their STEM project of water testing.
The children asked the Council to help them educate people who come by Cherry Creek about the need to pick up after their pets.
“We need to stop pet waste from getting into the water. People need to pick it up,” the students said in the video, saying the amount of E. coli in the creek is rated at “too numerous to count.”
The students further said they completed brochures and posters at school and asked the Council to come help them display them along the creek.
Town Manager Craig Allebach said the Council will absolutely help them in any way they can.
“We do have several doggie pots along our greenway and along Cherry Creek,” Allebach noted of the stations that provide waste bags for pet walkers. “We have eight or nine, and we’re putting one at Christ Covenant pretty soon.”
Allebach said the Council will consider putting another doggie pot or a brochure site at the creek.
The Council also heard from a man who said he lives on Fourth Avenue and College and is concerned about the increasing number of children playing outside paired with the high traffic and speeds.
“I’ve come to ask for help,” Jim Baucom said. “We’d like to either have some stop signs at Fifth Avenue north and south or speed bumps along the way. The stop on Fourth is constantly ran by people. People don’t stop at all, they just fly right through it.”
Town Marshal Joe Hawn said his department put a speed board up in the area after other residents filed complaints with Town Hall and monitored the traffic for three days last weekend.
“I was shocked by the number of cars going through there,” Hawn said. “I had no idea there were that many cars. But, we didn’t see speeds at excessive speed.”
Hawn said the area is 25 mph, and his department found one excessive speeder between 6 and 7 a.m. going 42 mph.
“But the average speed was 18,” Hawn said. The Council agreed to take Baucom's request for stop signage or speed bumps under consideration and provide an answer at June’s Council meeting.
In other business, the council:
• Approved a 48-month lease for a Bobcat skid loader for the street department to use at a cost of $52,000, with monthly payments of $733.
Allebach said the machine will come with attachments, and the department already has a Bobcat tool cat.
“So what it makes it nice with Bobcat is we can use various attachments,” Allebach said, adding that the town has been taking inventory of equipment at the street department and realizing they have workers with skill sets that can’t be utilized because of lack of proper machinery.
“Some projects have been jobbed out to other companies, and we’re already seeing fairly significant savings because of more we’re able to do internally versus jobbing it out. This (lease) allows us to do even more,” he said.
• Took under advisem*nt a standard operating procedures for the Winona Lake Police Department presented by Hawn. Hawn said his department has been working on getting a set of SOP’s up to snuff for the past two years. The council will take action on the plans at June’s meeting.
• Heard a report from town engineer Aaron Carl that the water main project is approved to go out for bid from Lakeland Christian Academy to Raccoon Run. Allebach said the water line pipes are being increased from 12 to 16 inches because the town anticipates further expansion to the east and Indiana American Water has agreed to cover the additional capacity for that line with no upcharge.
• Announced the parks programs begin June 6 and the splash pad opens the Friday before Memorial Day.
The next Winona Lake Town Council meeting is 6 p.m. June 15 at Town Hall.
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