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OSSIAN — In a quick-but-busy session Monday night, the Ossian Town Council passed ordinances dealing with sewers and streets, rezoned some property, approved a development plan, considered updating the town’s home page on the Internet, and considered moving a bridge.
Most of the business was the culmination of efforts set forth previously. For instance, the rezoning of the former Ossian Furniture Mart property and the development plan for 208 W. Mill St. were both considered last Thursday evening by the Wells County Area Plan Commission. The APC recommended that the Ossian council pass both items, and council members did so Monday evening.
The two ordinances came up for discussion at the council’s April 13 meeting, and both gained unanimous approval Monday night.
The sewer ordinance rewrites the town’s requirements for individual users. The old ordinance caused problems for the town and for Dawn Foods, forcing that company to “pump and haul” its production waste to Fort Wayne because direct discharge into the Ossian sanitary sewer would have been a technical violation of the town’s ordinances — even though the town could have handled the waste with no problem. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management required the rules be changed, and IDEM had to approve the changes.
Council members quickly passed the sewer ordinance with all five members — Dick Witte, Angela Dial, Josh Barkley, Brad Pursley, and Terri Hughes-Lazzell — voting in favor.
The street ordinance likewise passed quickly and unanimously. It puts limits on how long trailers, recreational vehicles, and boats can be parked on the street. Hughes-Lazzell wanted to be sure that the change would not affect work vehicles, such as pickup trucks with caps on them (as opposed to mounted campers). When she was assured the ordinance would not cause any problems for such vehicles, she joined in approving the measure.
One of the two items of business from the APC cleaned up a mistake made earlier in the rezoning process. The former Ossian Furniture Mart at 10018 N. Ind. 1 is becoming an industrial laundry, and rezoning for the area was approved by the APC and the council in February. However, Lynn Lipp said one parcel was omitted from the rezoning process and it had to be approved again.
Lipp said the new owners of the property, who will operate a business called Mat Matters, are working at the site already.
“They’re very excited about getting out there,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a good thing for the town.”
“We miss the furniture store,” Witte said.
“I know,” said Lipp. “It breaks my heart that it’s not there.”
The other bit of business from the APC was the approval of a development plan for the property at 208 W. Mill St. Randy Barkley presented the plan to the council; Josh Barkley abstained from any consideration of the plan.
Barkley Properties will tear down a structure on the Mill Street site and build a four-unit “four-plex” on the site. Randy Barkley said the existing structure would be torn down this year but construction on the four-plex would not begin until next year.
Council members gave Town Manager Luann Martin permission to update the town’s Web site as she sees fit. She is talking to two companies, Reusser Design and Crash 31.
“I have told them, ‘We like the way it looks, but it’s old,’” Martin told council members. “It’s been that way since I have been here, and it needs to be refreshed.”
The county is apparently going to replace a bridge on CR 400W south of U.S. 224. There is a possibility that a subdivision in Ossian could use the old bridge as a trail crossing across Eight Mile Creek. However, the town would have to take ownership of the bridge. Council members agreed to discuss the matter again at their May 11 meeting.
The council also agreed to ask Town Attorney Mike Hartburg to review its options for unsafe building ordinances. Current regulations, the council said, were not “user-friendly” and needed to be improved.
by DAVE SCHULTZ
daves@news-banner.com
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