At its February meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 17, the Winona Lake Town Council engaged in a lengthy discussion regarding Ordinance 2015-1-1.

The ordinance was introduced at the council’s January meeting, and its purpose is to limit the weights of large trucks on the island, which sits just off the eastern shore of Winona Lake.

Town Attorney James Walmer introduced a couple of amendments to the previously introduced ordinance, namely adding exceptions for utility vehicles, garbage trucks and emergency vehicles such as fire trucks. Language was also added that gives town officials the ability to exempt vehicles under “extraordinary circumstances.”

Several council members expressed concern over how to enforce the ordinance. “The ability to weigh the trucks is a challenge,” noted Walmer. “You can’t hold the truck too long or you might run into some liability.”

Additionally, in reviewing ordinances regarding street cuts, town officials found existing legislation addressing weight limits on the island. In sections 6 and 7 of Ordinance 98-7-1 a weight limit of 10,000 pounds per axle and a penalty of $25 for a violation was established.

“I don’t think anybody knew that was even on the books,” said Winona Lake Town Coordinator Craig Allebach. Allebach went on to explain that the old ordinance was drafted in 1998, and it was recent, sometimes frequent, construction on the island that prompted the council and town officials to address weight limits on the island, as well as review policies on road construction.

“Even with all that has occurred, those roads have withstood the test of time,” explained Allebach. “It’s not just an issue of an overweight truck. It’s their frequency. We don’t have a frequency penalty.”

Town Engineer Larry Long gathered some data addressing both ordinances and shared his findings with the council. He reported that large concrete trucks weigh 34,000 pounds when empty. “If we stay with the 10,000 pounds per axle, they could get about 4 yards of concrete on them,” Long stated.

Long went on to address some concerns with the old street cut ordinance, such as boring, replacing geogrids in certain areas, flowable concrete and requiring maintenance bonds. This raised concerns with both the new weight limit ordinance and the old street cut ordinance.

The council discussed doing away with Ordinance 2015-1-1 and amending the Ordinance 98-7-1 to raise the penalties for overweight vehicles. There was also discussion of amending 98-7-1 to update it (a lot has changed in the construction business since it was adopted 17 years ago). Ordinance 98-7-1 was amended in 2007, adding sections for a street cut permit and a penalty for violating the ordinance, which Long said might need to be reviewed.

Ultimately, the council didn’t take any action on Ordinance 98-7-1, but it did adopt an amended version of Ordinance 2015-1-1. The adopted ordinance establishes a weight limit of 10,000 pounds per axle and a penalty of $1,500 for violators.

Also at the meeting, Winona Lake Fire Chief Mitch Titus reported that the fire department is dealing with the aftermath of the Warsaw Chemical Fire. Titus said that a substantial amount of the department’s equipment was lost fighting the fire.

Among the items lost were 12 sets of bunker gear, several air packs and various other items. Titus estimated replacing the equipment would cost approximately $50,000. He is hoping to get with the department’s insurance provider and get the ball rolling on acquiring new equipment.

Additionally, the council approved a sewage rate reduction request for Cut and Curl Beauty Salon. The request was tabled at last month’s meeting so that data on sewage usage could be gathered.

Street Superintendent Tom Miller obtained the data and recommended the reduction be granted. He said the data was consistent with average usage of a single family dwelling. The rate was adjusted from 2 units to 1.25 units.