By Tim Pinkham, T-H Correspondent
LOOGOOTEE — The Loogootee City Council took the first step Monday night to buy a new street sweeper.
Due to the cost of repairing the city’s 21-year-old sweeper, which broke down earlier this year and has not been used since, the council has been considering buying a new one.
The council is considering purchasing a sweeper by means of a reverse auction on the Internet. Unlike E-bay and other similar sites, in a reverse auction the low bid wins.
Bill Goffinet, a past four-term mayor of Tell City, was at the meeting to explain how a reverse auction works and to answer questions. He now works for the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns.
“This is one way of trying to get the best possible deal on equipment for the cities,” Goffinet said.
At the June 8 meeting, the council is expected to pass a resolution allowing the city to make purchases by means of a reverse auction. In the meantime, the specifications for a street sweeper will be sent electronically to interested dealers throughout Indiana and possibly adjourning states.
Goffinet said the council will set the time for the reverse auction, which must be done during a public meeting, and usually ends within an hour. The council would use a laptop computer, which would display all bids. However, each competing business would only see its bid on its computer, as well as the placement of the bid, such as highest, second, third, etc.
Once the bidding deadline has ended, Goffinet said the council would have the same options it would have if the bids had been submitted in sealed envelopes. The council could accept the low bid, reject the bid or take it under advisement for further consideration.
“I know we need the street sweeper, but our finances are not good,” said Councilwoman Susan Brewer. She fears Loogootee will receive even less tax revenue in 2010, due to the property tax caps enacted last year. “I just cannot see spending the last penny.”
Mayor Don Bowling said he did not believe Martin County and Loogootee would be severely hurt by the tax cap, because the county’s property tax rate was not high before the property tax caps were instituted. He said only $1,000 was lost this year and he believes the revenue drop will be less than $20,000 next year.
Bowling said the city had been awarded $70,000 from the Indiana Housing Community Development Authority to pay for clean up of the former Gospel House property. The building partially collapsed in late December 2008 and was demolished for safety reasons.
The council had earlier agreed to pay $1,150 to Maven Construction, Odon, for an inspector to test the rubble of the building for asbestos or other hazardous materials. Bowling said the inspection should take one week.
If no hazardous material is found, the city will have the rubble loaded onto trucks and taken to the industrial park.
Bowling said the property, which has unpaid taxes, has already been through a county tax sale once, but no one wanted to buy it.
The mayor expects the county will purchase the property, waive the property taxes owned, and turn over the property to the city. At that point the clean up can begin.
In other business
Advisory Plan Commission
The council established the Loogootee Advisory Plan Commission. This is a step required by state law before the city can adopt a comprehensive land use plan. The three members appointed by the council were Councilmen Rick Norris and Rich Taylor and Utilities Manager Bo Wilson. Bowling said he would make his four appointments later, but two must be Democrats and two Republicans.
