Loogootee Board of Works and Council Prepare for the New Year

Department heads presented their reports for December at the Board of Works meeting. The police department logged 80 calls for service. 15 tickets were issued, with 6 cited for misdemeanor crimes. 

There were 8 criminal arrests, 7 of which were misdemeanors. 2 involved juveniles, and 1 was a felony drug arrest. Of the misdemeanors, 2 were DUI, and 1 was drug- related. The fire department had 20 runs in December, with 14 medical calls and 6 fires. Next Monday, the department will be conducting interviews for new firefighters. 

The board approved a request to purchase a new equipment trailer with a greater weight limit and tilt deck, which will increase efficiency and safety. Later this year, discussions will be held about upgrading the tractor.

 In the Council meeting, the new ordinance to repeal and recreate establishing a regulation and cost for the use of city property was amended as follows: under paragraph 8, definitions were amended from 15 people to 50 people. 

Under permitting procedures, paragraph five, iii was amended to state any other location in the city of Loogootee may be considered. An exception was created, with no location within 240 feet from the center of the town fountain permitted for special events due to the small area. In addition, the number of barricades needed to shut down the area would conflict with the desire to keep the town square open and available to the public. In addition, paragraph 15 was amended to state that the public Board of Works would respond to special event permit applications with an approval or denial in a reasonable amount of time. 

As the ordinance had already been passed in a prior meeting, the rules were suspended to pass the amendment to the ordinance on the first reading. 

 For more information on these and other updates, visit www.loogootee.in.gov