The Carmi Township met Tuesday night with Trustees Brad Chapman and Tim Scates absent. The board moved right along the agenda items.
An item that has been in unfinished business for a while has an outcome.
Supervisor Pam Deig had an extensive discussion on employee health insurance policies and premiums. It was noted that family coverage would not be covered in the town or road budgets due to the expense.
“There is a $1,500 deductible, that $3,000 deductible, and the $6,000 deductible. So we need to determine: do we wanna pay the monthly premium for the employees is 560, 500, 499? I know that the budget takes care of the 560.So we could do the $1,500 deductible.Um, but I think that we need to leave the option, make a motion to leave an option for road employees, um, to be able to have family coverage. They would have to pay 100% for their coverage.”
The Township budget was approved just a couple of months ago, and with three options of healthcare coverage, the board agreed to approve Prime Care Plus insurance, which has a $1,500 deductible and costs $560 a month per employee.
After a couple of months of discussing the possibility of helping the City of Carmi and White County with the dog pound, Deig presented a proposal to the board that she received from Marilyn Gentry.
According to Deig, Gentry is presenting 7.5 acres, which includes the dog pound, and gifting it to the Township; the Township would cover the legal fees and transfer costs.
Deig explained that there are two acres of farmable land, wooded acreage, and the dog pound that is still under contract with the city and county.
Attorney Greg Stewart was on hand to go over the possibility of the Township accepting the gift.
“I just want to let you know that if you acquire this by gift, there’s a process to do it, and it’s not difficult, but you take the property as is, so subject to all leases, subject to all environmental issues. So you would be bound by, if they’ve got a, let’s say a 25-year lease still to go with the city and county, you have to abide by that lease. You step into Marilyn’s shoes.”
The board agreed to proceed with due diligence on the property acquisition proposal, which will include environmental studies, lease terms, timber and farmland areas, and possible future building options.
Truck and asphalt bids were accepted during the meeting. The board only received one bid per item. Johnson Truck Sales of Norris City will purchase the International dump truck from the Township for $3,756. O’Daniel Trucking will complete the asphalt work in the subdivision of Pontca Lake for $227,530; approximately one mile of road.
Moving on to reports, Assessor Amy Edwards reported that tax bills have been issued and many residents were upset about the increase. Edwards expressed that rising property sales are driving reassessments upward.
In the Emergency and General Assistance, a total of $2,219.81 was distributed to families who asked for assistance in July.
Road Commissioner Chris McEwing reported that oil and chip road work was completed for 875 East, 1200 North, 1450 North, 900 East, 1300 North, Shipley Hill, and 1600 North. There will also be a tree removal project happening on Kingdom Church Road with help from Wayne White Electric at the end of the month.
The next Township meeting will be on September 8 at 6 pm.