INGALLS — With the graduation of Sean Waterman from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, the Ingalls Police Department has five full-time police officers on staff.
Waterman’s individual milestone signifies an important point in the department’s development, Ingalls police chief Chris Thompson said.
“We’ll have a full-time guy on shift all times, seven days a week 24 hours a day,” Thompson said.
During Thompson’s report to the town council on Sept. 9, he informed the group that Waterman completed academy requirements and graduated on Sept. 5.
Along with the chief, his group of officers include Waterman, Tony Keogh, Matthew Edy and John Gaw.
Since Thompson was named chief in June 2017, the full-time staff has grown from three officers to five. The latest additions are Waterman and Gaw.
Next month, officers will begin new 12-hour shifts, Thomson said. Two officers will work shifts from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the other two will work shifts from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Four full-time officers will mean Thompson will have time to handle more administrative duties.
“We don’t have a dependency on reserves,” Thompson told the council. “We still want them. We want to have double coverage on our busy nights — Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays — but we’re not reliant on them anymore. We’ll have a guy on duty.”
Having additional full-time staff appears to be coming at the right time.
Thompson opened his report by telling the council his crew handled 402 calls in the month of August.
“I believe that’s the first time in the history of the department we’ve handled 400 calls in a month,” Thompson said.
Budget hearing
Prior to the regular meeting, the town conducted a public hearing on the proposed 2020 budget. There was no public comment on the budget, presented to the town council by Steve Brock of Therber, Brock and Associates, Inc.
Town council Vice President Tim Green requested a workshop with Brock and the council for the board to have a better understanding of the budget, which must be approved by Oct. 14. The workshop session was scheduled for Sept. 26.
More plan commission changes
After rearranging and removing members of its board of zoning appeals and planning commissions —due to state code — at an August town council meeting, the council will have more changes to implement soon.
Kip Golden, clerk-treasurer and member of the planning commission, informed the board that Dan Reigelsberger, appointed to the planning commission by a municipal executive, has resigned his position, effective immediately.
Town council president Justin Gardner said he would ask Don Bault to see he would accept being re-appointed to the commission. Bault was removed from the group at the last council meeting during the rearranging of the boards.
“Everybody I have talked to has said Don Bault has done a great job,” Gardner said. “I know he probably didn’t want to come off in the way that he had to. Hopefully he will consent to serving the town again.”
Gardner said new appointments are still to be made for the BZA.
Race weekend in Ingalls
The council approved a request from Scott Rance, president of the Indy Quarter Scale Racing, to have a camping area available for out-of-state participants for the upcoming Interstate Racing Association Indy Quarter Scale races, for radio-controlled cars, to be held at Ingalls Motor Speedway, located at Ingalls Park, Saturday, Sept. 21.
