Published: March 23, 2008 12:21 am         

Council approves petition for annexation of lots

Bristol Town Council members approved a petition for voluntary annexation of a group of lots surrounding Commerce Drive, about a mile northeast of the town near the toll road. All the lots are owned by manufacturing and wholesale supply businesses.

The petition was filed March 10 and its first hearing will be held at next month’s board meeting.

According to current plans, the J.A. Wagner Development Group will pay to install the necessary water and sewer lines between Commerce Drive to allow for the development of the Blakesly farm property.

The farm, directly east of the land being annexed, will eventually be annexed as well, starting with a 77.53 acre section, followed by another approximately 77 acre section.

The council is currently in the process of creating a 10-year tax increment finance district for new construction and 60 percent of the revenue it creates will be used to reimburse the development group for their water and sewer work.

The Bristol Economic Redevelopment Commission adopted a resolution at their meeting last week to establish a South Ind. 15 TIF district.

A percentage of the tax revenues from the district will be used to fund the building of an alternate truck route to divert traffic from Ind. 15 south of Bristol east of the town, reconnecting to Ind. 15 north of town.

Shannon Marks has been hired to provide TIF district consulting services for the town to aid in the process.

Police Department

According to Town Marshal Michael Swallow, the Bristol Police Department received 921 calls for service last month, an increase of 151 over the previous February.

Personal injury accidents, thefts and domestic disputes and charges of driving while license suspended, possession of drugs or paraphernalia, battery and burglary increased. Property damage accidents and charges of criminal mischief and driving while never having obtained a license decreased. The department processed 31 misdemeanor criminal arrests, down from 43, and 22 felony criminal arrests, up from 15.

Delivery of two new Chevrolet Impalas to the police department has been pushed back to April 1, after having been pushed back to March from February. Upon further inspection of the contract, board members and their legal counsel found an inconsistency between the price they remembered having been stated to them and that on the contract. The contract has been tabled until the issue has been resolved.

A new GPS system has been installed in all police department vehicles, which now have mapping and tracking capabilities. This is in addition to two GPS-capable computers at the station and GPS trackers in their portable radios, to allow for quicker location of officers in need.

Other business:

• Gary Lowell’s appointment to the park board was approved to complete the term of Vivian Kane, who is unable due to illness.

• Police department volunteers raised approximately $300 for Big Brothers Big Sisters during the Bowling For Kids’ Sake fund-raiser.

• The next prescription drug drop off will be March 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the police department.

• Inquiries are being made as to whether it would be cheaper to trim or completely remove several large hollowed oak trees from the cemetery.

• A contract from an architecture firm to remodel the fire station has been tabled until the board decides whether it would be better to build an entirely new facility.

• An interlocal agreement meeting between town officials and MS4 regarding groundwater issues will be held in Goshen on Monday.

• The Bristol Bugle has approached the town about increasing the frequency of presenting town beautification awards. T.B. White was announced as April’s winner.

• The Bristol Town Council will hold its next work session on April 15 at 7:30 a.m. and its next regular board meeting on April 17 at 7 p.m.