The Washington City Council last night voted to authorize the city’s legal council to file notice of an appeal of the Daviess County Circuit Court in the suit brought against the City by Daviess County Rural Water. The city lost that suit recently as the water company sued over what they said was a breach of contract.
The Council also approved a request from to vacate a platted, but unused section of Wilson Street west of Southwest First. The Council also approved the introduction of an ordinance updating the legal description of the city’s boundaries. An ordinance dealing with energy metering was tabled due to pending action in the Indiana General Assembly. And in discussion of the early repayment of county economic development bonds, the Council voted to honor its obligation to the county and pay the city’s 21.3% share in a lump sum.
The Washington City Council received the annual reports from the Fire, Police, and Building Commissioner’s Departments. Fire Chief David Rhoads said the firefighters answered 1152 calls, most of the responses were emergency responses, 95 of those calls were fires, with only two of the fires being classed as major. Police Chief Todd Church reported the WPD received 17,463 complaints in 2016 which included 3915 emergency 9-1-1 calls. The Chief said the department had filed 3002 charges, which was down from 2015. However, Church reported that cases referred to detectives jumped from 254 to 637. Church credited the increase to the addition of a third detective concentrating on drug related cases. Church said the focus on the drug cases possibly accounts for the drop in other arrests and charges. Building Commissioner Bryan Sergesketter reported that the City had demolished 11 derelict abandoned structures in the city and that property owners had razed 30 others.
The Washington Board of Public Works and Safety approved DLC Media’s request to hold a mini-Cruz-In on May 6 in conjunction with 20th Century Chevy. The Board also approved writing off unpaid utility bills from 2014. Utility Department head Anita Ash reported that delinquent payments were down and most of the write-offs were from bankruptcies. The Board also gave the Clerk-Treasurer permission to void un-cashed checks issued by the city from 2014. Clerk Treasurer Beth McGookey said there was still $923 worth of outstanding checks.