Dirk Sears Appointed Oolitic Town Council President

(OOLITIC) – The Oolitic Town Council meeting Monday night was held at the Oolitic Fire Station to respect social distancing and to give an opportunity for more residents to attend the meeting in person.

During the meeting, Dirk Sears was appointed Oolitic Town Council president. The town council did not appoint a vice-president at this time in order to give time for a new council member to be appointed and weigh in on the decision.

Dirk Sears was appointed president of Oolitic Town Council Monday night.

This comes after former Council president, Bill Kendall, resigned last month to take care of personal issues.

Condemnation Officer Johnny Dillion reported that the property owner on East Oolitic Road has been given enough time to take care of issues town officials wanted to be addressed at their property.

After looking over the property with Councilmember Dirk Sears and Deputy Town Marshal Ted Maze, Dillion will be requesting that Oolitic Town Attorney Greg Pittman start the process for condemnation. Pittman was not at the meeting Monday evening.

Former Condemnation Officer Glenn Gross also gave the property owner plenty of time to address concerns.

The street department is dealing with a lot of water line breaks in the area of Milwaukee Avenue. Town Councilmember Johnny Dillion noted the town did not have a water or sewer increase for 12 years. Because of the lack of revenue coming in, repairs to the aging infrastructure were not performed.

The Town of Oolitic receives a plague from the Lawrence County Bikers for the support of their toy drive

“I do not want to pass down rate hikes on myself, but after twelve years of no water and sewer improvements you can see in these pictures (shown during the meeting) some of the water lines and the patching that has been done over the years,” said Dillion.

The town of Oolitic has raised its rates 42 percent over the last two years, and an additional rate increase is expected in the near future to help with a future project in the town.

Seals Ambulance is now staffed at the Oolitic Fire Station

In other business:

  • Fire Chief Ted Maze’s request for a roadblock on Saturday, September 19 was granted.
  • On September 12 and on Columbus Day in October the Oolitic Fire Department will be participating in a hazardous materials drill at the Town Hall and Fire Station.
  • Seals Ambulance Service will be stationed at the Oolitic Fire Station. They will have an ambulance crew staffed 24 hours at the Oolitic location.
  • Oolitic resident Dave Brown raised concerns on the ordinance pertaining to off road vehicles and the town’s ordinances that prevent riding them after sunset. He also discussed lighting requirements for these vehicles during the day when golf carts are allowed on the town’s street after dark. He also noted not being allowed to ride in school zones. He says the ordinance does not match Indiana Code.
  • Bill Hanners of Lawrence County Indiana Bikers gave the Town Council a plague honoring their efforts for their annual toy drive held every year.
  • The Oolitic Fire Department was reevaluated last month by the Insurance Service Organization and the department was given a 6 fire protection rating. The rating should keep insurance rates for the town’s residents and businesses low.