NORTH WEBSTER – North Webster resident Mark Lawson was approved to be the fifth member of the Tippecanoe Township-North Webster Fire Protection Territory Board by the North Webster Town Council during its end-of-the year meeting Tuesday.
The Fire Territory was approved March 31.
The Fire Territory Board will be made up of five members. Two of the members will come from the Township Advisory Board and two will come from the Town Council.
During Dec. 21’s Council meeting, Ed Clayton, from the Township Advisory Board, said the Town Council will approve the fifth member on even years for a one-year term. On odd years, the Township Advisory Board will approve the fifth person.
The other person up for the position was North Webster resident Mike Wyrick, who approached the Council with an interest to be on the Board during the Dec. 21 Council meeting.
Tuesday, Lawson said he talked to Tippecanoe Township Trustee Chris Francis during the Mermaid Festival in June and then he went to the Tippecanoe Township Advisory Board about becoming part of the Fire Territory Board. That’s when he learned he had to approach the Council about it, which he did in November.
Lawson said his interest in being on the Board was tax related. The current tax rate is 6% and he said it could go up to 12%. Lawson said he doesn’t know if the tax rate increase is needed all at once or not.
“Let’s see how this first year goes,” he said.
When asked what he hopes to bring to the Board, he said he hopes everything works out right for the EMTs and hiring more EMTs.
Lawson said he worked at Zimmer for 38 years and lived around North Webster all his life. He has been in Boy Scouts and has been president of the North Webster Lions Club for five or six years.
Also Tuesday, the Council approved a $3-per-month increase to the sanitation fee, effective March 1. The current rate is $9 per month and will increase to $12.
Clerk-Treasurer Betsy Luce said she went through years past of the revenue to see what the surplus was for different utilities and the surplus is getting smaller. Luce said the town could probably go another year without raising the fee on wastewater.
For the sanitation, Luce said she thinks the town is going to fall short if they don’t raise their garbage rates. Luce said the town has been working off a surplus for a while and the town is going to use up all the surplus.
In other business, the Council approved:
• The appointments of Jack Birch as town attorney, Greg Church as town marshal, Dave May as detective sergeant and James Hastings as deputy marshal.
• Memberships in the Indiana League of Municipal Clerks and Treasurer, Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, Indiana Association Chiefs of Police and North Webster/Tippecanoe Township Chamber of Commerce.
• Dan Thystrup as Council president for 2022.
