New Harmony council adopts unsafe‑building fund ordinance, OKs event permits and hires engineers for drainage review

The New Harmony Town Council on June 16 adopted Ordinance 2026‑2 establishing an Unsafe Building Fund, approved multiple special‑event permits and authorized several contractor agreements, the council said at a regularly scheduled meeting at Town Hall.

The council approved the second reading of Ordinance 2026‑2 creating the unsafe‑building fund after a brief presentation and voice vote. The chair opened the motion; the ordinance carried by voice vote with no recorded dissent.

The council also approved a permit for the Arts in Murphy Park fine‑arts festival, sponsored by 1 New Harmony, scheduled for Oct. 17–18 with setup on Oct. 16. Organizer Tony Treadway described plans for about 75 artists, three food trucks and crowd controls; the application includes a Murphy Park shelter rental agreement and commitments on sanitation and sound levels. Treadway said the event would “be doing things much the same” as prior years and that organizers have working agreements with regional arts partners.

Judy Modlin, president of the New Harmony Parks and Trails board, told the council her group received support from local foundations for the accessible, year‑round restroom project at Murphy Park. “They awarded us a grant in support of our accessible, year‑round restroom project,” Modlin said, and noted the Parks board plans to use grant funds for high‑end fixtures that will improve the facility.

On infrastructure, the council voted to sign a general services agreement with Lochmiller Group, a civil engineering firm, to be used on an on‑call basis for planning, mapping and construction‑support tasks. Laura Filleby of Lochmiller Group told the council the agreement contains no immediate cost and that a first task could be a drainage inventory and prioritization. “Task 1 would be focusing on the water resources, on this drainage,” Filleby said, and she recommended a not‑to‑exceed starting inventory in the “$25,000” range to produce an asset inventory, prioritization and initial cost estimates.

Council members moved and approved a separate motion to hire VanHafton & Farrar to research right‑of‑way and property transfers affecting South Street and 3rd Street, with a not‑to‑exceed authorization of $5,000 so legal work can begin.

Contract actions approved at the meeting included a Mulzer Stone estimate of $8,600 to re‑rock Fairgrounds Road and several alleys, and an award of $13,125 to American Eagle for street‑tree trimming, removals and stump grinding (about 10 trees). Tom Williams, who led several department updates, said the tree work followed an arborist inspection and is aimed at improving sidewalk and pedestrian safety.

On personnel, the council approved a 2.8% cost‑of‑living increase for the clerk‑treasurer position and agreed to re‑review elected‑official compensation at the start of the year. Members discussed the town’s use of consultants and the possible future hiring of a town manager to coordinate expanding administrative needs.

The council also discussed an infrastructure grant effort for a bridge project. The chair reported a proposed federal appropriation that he said would include roughly $20 million earmarked for the bridge; the council voted to commit $250,000 toward the local match if federal funds are awarded. The chair said the county council indicated it could contribute up to $1 million toward the project contingent on the federal funding moving forward.

Before adjourning the council approved claims, asked staff to verify several line‑items and authorized adjustments next month if needed. The meeting ended after a motion to adjourn carried by voice vote.