Town approves hire of new police chief; former leader was on job for six months
LAPEL — The Lapel Town Council welcomed a former council member back into the fold and voted to hire a new police chief during a special council meeting Monday, March 26.
Clay Parkison of Lapel was re-introduced to the council as he takes over for Michael Cates, whose seat was vacated after Cates moved out of the area and became ineligible to serve.
Parkison served on the council from 2012 to 2016 and was chosen by Madison County Republican Party to fill the vacant seat.
“Is it an easy transition? No,” Parkison said. “I don’t think it’s ever easy to step in mid-session, because you have to go in and try to get along with what is already going on and then guide it and try to help out as much as you can.”
Parkison will stay in the seat for the rest of the term, this year and next year, before deciding if he wants to run for the seat beyond that.
The council also voted 3-2 to hire Kelly Naselroad, 49, as chief of police.
The vote is contingent on background checks and the final vetting processes coming back clear, town officials said.
Naselroad, a Lapel High School graduate, was one of four finalists for the job.
He comes from the Edgewood Police Department, where he’s worked since 2009. He was a reserve officer for the department in 2008 prior to joining full time.
Naselroad has 20 years of military service; according to the town’s salary ordinance, he will be paid $49,500 per year.
Former chief Ryan Daniels resigned earlier this year; his last day was Feb. 15. He was hired as chief in July 2017 to replace former chief Michael Barnes.
In other town business:
• Mike Kleinpeter of Kleinpeter Consulting discussed a $50,000 Office of Community and Rural Affairs Grant the town plans to pursue for water, sewer and stormwater project design.
The town would need to provide $5,560 in matching funds to obtain the grant, Kleinpeter said.
A second wave of grants, potentially up to $550,000, would then be sought later in the year to help pay construction costs.
The council approved the local match resolution for the grant and approved a fair housing ordinance to make sure all residents are given the same rights when seeking local housing.
• Aaron Goslee from RQAW Consulting Engineers and Architects, announced the contract for the state’s Community Crossings Grant road projects has been signed with E&B Paving Inc.
The $540,000 contract is for milling and resurfacing streets in town. About $350,00 in state funds and a 25 percent town match of $117,119 will be used to pay for the bulk of the work.
The roads slated for improvement at this time are Fourth Street from State Road 13 to John Street; Cascadden Loop; Fifth Street from Vine Street to Central Avenue; East Sixth Street from the dead end to Woodward Street; Vine Street from Seventh Street to the dead end; Ninth Street from State Road 13 to Erie Street; 10th Street from Walnut Street to Vine Street; and County Road 500 South.
Some of the work may have to wait for a second round of grant funding, which is expected to come this year, town leaders said previously.
• The council also approved hiring RQAW to act as building inspectors on an on-call basis.
Gary Swaim, Lapel building inspector, works full time elsewhere and often can’t get to sites as quickly as town officials would like.
Having an inspector available during the day or on-call is required for large projects, during which regular inspections are needed, town leaders said.
• A representative of CGS Services was on hand to discuss the town’s trash service contract, which is up for bid. The representative offered a two-year extension of the company’s current deal with the town, during which the price would stay the same for the first year and increase by 3 percent for the second year.
Several council members said they are pleased with the current CGS service and liked the new proposal. When it came down to a vote, the council said it wants to see other bids before making a decision.
• The council voted to pay $3,885 to repair a recently purchased dump truck that has a fuel system problem.
• The council also discussed a quote from Culy Contracting to fix a water meter issue at the former fire station. The Culy quote is for $3,950 but does not include the cost of a new meter, which may be as high as $4,000. The council said it will see if the town’s utility department could install a new water line and meter for a savings.
