The Ferdinand Town Council met on Tuesday for their monthly meeting. After the Pledge of Allegiance, the Town Council President turned the floor over to Janet Schnell, President of Survivors of Suicide of Dubois County who read an excerpt of an upcoming article honoring her Mother, Mary Lou Schmitt, one of the founding members of SOSofDC from back in 1996. With next month being National Suicide Prevention Month, Survivors of Suicide of Dubois County chose Mary Lou as their Loss Survivor of the Year. Mary Lou had already accepted Proclamations from Huntingburg Mayor Neil Elkins and Jasper Mayor Dean Vonderhide before accepting a proclamation from the Ferdinand Town Council at the meeting. You can find more information on SOSofDC by visiting their Facebook page or their website at www.sosofdc.org.
After the proclamation was read the meeting picked up as it typically does with monthly reports from several town departments. Police Chief Kerri Blessinger mentioned the FPD has applied for and received grant funding for increased police presence for the schools through the Stop Arm Violation Enforcement program, often referred to as the SAVE Grant. Additionally, Chief Blessinger mentioned that the Ferdinand Police Department is actively hiring and is accepting lateral transfers. Applications can be obtained either online or at the Ferdinand Police Station. Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Hoppenjans announced that the Ferdinand Firemen’s Ball was a huge success and he wanted to thank the Ferdinand community for their part in that. Hoppenjans stated the department had received their new SCBA packs and bottles and they had received a quote for $6800 from Pro Air to replace their old high-pressure breaking air bottles, a cost that had already been budgeted for earlier in the fiscal year. Lastly, Hoppenjans informed the Ferdinand Town Council that they are going to advertise for new volunteer members from now until October 31st. Tom Lueken reported the Street Department is anticipating a Fall Town-Wide Clean-up for Tuesday, October 8th through Thursday, October 10th with finalized details coming out as the time gets closer. The days and routes of the pick-up would mirror what occurred back in the Spring as Lueken informed the Council the Spring Clean-up ran very smoothly.
Ferdinand Town Council President Ken Sicard gave an update on the Dubois County Leadership Academy Graduating Class from this past week, highlighting how proud the community was of the success of the two Capstone Projects: The newer automobile for Crisis Connection and the improvements to the Haysville Park. In the middle of the meeting, a budget hearing was held for 2025. The advertised budget for 2025 is slightly over $2.9M with an adopted tax rate of .6438. You can view the entire Town of Ferdinand budget on the government website at www.budgetnotices.in.gov.
Councilwoman Debbi Johnson reported the Health Insurance Commite had received a favorable renewal quote of a 2% increase compared to years past that saw between a 10% to 20% increase. The committee recommended to the Town Council to accept the renewal benefits which the Council agreed. Johnson and Clerk-Treasurer Tamara Miller spoke to the Council about a proposal that could potentially save the town just under $5000. This was done because a few town employees declined insurance coverage and usage coverage provided by their spouse’s employer. Those employees would then receive a $100 monthly stipend as a thank you for helping lower town costs and to help towards their spouses’s insurance costs. This would be paid in $50 increments during the first two pay periods of each month beginning on October 1st. All motions were made and approved by the Council.
Two support letters came before the Town Council: The first from Framing Ferdinand and the second from Traditional Arts. Framing Ferdinand is a newly established organization working towards 501(c)3 non-profit status and national accreditation through Main Street America. The organization’s mission is to engage with and promote the growth of Ferdinand, striving for the continuous improvement and enrichment of the community. The vision is to create a framework that enhances, connects, and beautifies the town, benefiting all residents. The Town Council gave support to Framing Ferdinand agreeing to help them in any way needed. Council President Sicard spoke to representatives from Framing Ferdinand about how important the work they were doing was to the community of Ferdinand and made a motion that was approved to donate $10,000 to Framing Ferdinand for 2025 but with a caveat. Framing Ferdinand has to come before the Council every June to give a yearly report on the projects they have completed, the projects currently ongoing, and future projects for the next 365 days, that way the Council can get them in the yearly budget going forward.
The Traditional Arts support letter written by the Town Council was to approve a grant request to the Indiana Office of Rural and Community Affairs, more commonly referred to as ORCA to address loneliness, and depression in rural areas of the Hoosier state by increasing opportunities for social connections. This grant would be used to make serious upgrades and remodel improvements to Peter Muller home located at 314 W. 9th St where Traditional Arts is located. These remodels included improvements both inside and outside to further social connections and human networking. You can follow Traditional Arts on Facebook or visit their website at traditionalartstoday.org. Back in September of 2019, Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch announced the home was one of seven properties to receive Historic Renovation Grants totaling $11, 175 for the home that was built between 1865-1870.
One final piece of business was opening the bidding period once again for the former Town Manage car, a 2018 Ford Taraus with around 67,000 miles. The bidding was originally opened in June and closed in July but all bids received came in way under the value of the car. To view the car or for more information, you can contact the Ferdinand Town Hall.
The next meeting of the Ferdinand Town Council will be held on a special Monday night session at 6:30 PM on September 16th with the meeting being paused at 7:00 PM for the 2025 Budget Adoption Hearing.
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