LAPEL — Police chief Kelly Naselroad introduced three new officers and their families during the latest town council meeting at Lapel Eagles Lodge: Michael Garner, Timothy Petty and Scott Swinford were all sworn in to open the March 7 meeting.
Garner is the most experienced of the trio.
He has been an officer for eight years, including time with Marion County Sheriff’s Department and McCordsville Police Department. He is an Indiana Law Enforcement Academy graduate.
Both Petty and Swinford are expected to complete academy classes this year.
Petty, from Morristown, has a military background and a degree in criminal justice. He also has worked for Madison County Child Services.
Swinford is from Daleville and has worked at Madison County Correctional Center.
Along with the swearing in of the new officers, Jonathan Buffington was also sworn in as a captain on the force.
“We’re finally back up to five guys, and there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Naselroad said. “Obviously, we have to get the two through the academy. We should have five fully-trained guys in place by the end of the year.”
Grant denied
The town did not receive a requested $600,000 from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) for a sewer/waste water grant to take care of asbestos and well house issues.
“Those are projects we cannot do with just our money,” council President Deb Wainscott said.
Under the grant scoring method, Lapel received 481 of 700 possible points. Scores of 450 and above are eligible for grants, but are assigned on priority basis by score. For this cycle, grant funding ran out before reaching the town’s application.
Mike Kleinpeter, a certified grant administrator from Whiteland-based Kleinpeter Consulting Group, LLC, addressed the council on its OCRA scoresheet to discuss where they might improve their scores when reapplying for the grant. He suggested no drastic changes, calling the town’s request “a good application.”
The town agreed and voted to resubmit its application with no changes, citing that the first score met the necessary qualifications and a new committee will score the bid. Eligibility to apply for the next round of grants begins March 24.
Other approvals
In other news, the council:
• Awarded a bid for to E&B Paving of Anderson. The town received a Community Crossings matching grant of $375,000 from Indiana Department of Transportation last year to help fund local roadwork. The council previously said County Road 950 West between county roads 300 South and 400 South would be the main focus of the work.
• Renewal a contract with Umbaugh and Associates. The company handles security and maturity of sewer and water bonds.
• Approved a request to purchase 200 new water meters.
• Approved shifting town employee Mike Daniels from part time to full time, and increasing the pay for Virgil Hobbs, a part-time employee, to $16 per hour.
Future discussion
The council discussed the possibility of hiring human resource consultants New Focus HR for a variety of work, including revamping handbooks, background checks and job descriptions.
A decision is expected to be made, following review by the town attorney, at the next council meeting scheduled for March 21.