Council Member Gene Warner. is pictured during Tuesday’s meeting. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Shepherd.

CLAYPOOL — The Claypool Town Council amended a downtown parking ordinance and moved to raise rates for trash pickup on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

Council members voted to amend a March 2015 ordinance regarding downtown parking in Claypool. The amendment says parking will no longer be limited to business parking only on South Main Street between Section Street and Calhoun Street.

Parking in that area will now operate on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Parking in the area is also prohibited from 4 to 6 a.m. from November through April for snow removal. Vehicle owners will be subject to fines and attorney fees if found to be in violation of the parking ordinance. For the first offense, violators will be fined $25. For a second offense, vehicle owners will receive a $50 fine. The penalty for the third and any subsequent violations is $75. In addition to the fines, violators will be responsible for any attorney fees the town incurs while issuing the fines.

Council members also moved to extend the town’s contract with Advanced Disposal for two years.

“The contract does have a slight increase for the residential pricing,” said Council President Niki Miller.

In other matters, the council raised residential trash pickup from $9.55 to $12.06 per month per home. For the second year of the contract, the fee will increase to $12.42 per month.

In his report to council members, Town Marshal Ben Sanders said the Claypool Police Department recently received two grants. One of the grants is from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, totaling $75,500. The money will will be used to pay the salary of a full-time deputy marshal, as well as the purchase of new portable radios, mobile radios and bulletproof vests.

“Everything that we put in for that grant actually got approved,” said Sanders. “Part of that is 100 percent salary coverage for a full-time deputy marshal for the first year. The only thing the town would have to do is pay insurance. It is a four-year grant though, so for the second year, the salary would be 75 percent paid for. They do that with the hopes of the town being able to budget that to help that keep going forward. This grant is going to help us out tremendously.”

Council members decided to table discussion on how to approach the grant for January.

The police department also received a grant from the Indiana State Department of Health for four units of Narcan, allowing for two units per squad car.

Near the end of the meeting, Clerk-Treasurer Pat Warner and Council Members Gene Warner and Liz Heiman thanked Miller for her work and service while serving on the town council. Miller will be replaced by Benny Stage Jr., who won the town council north district seat during the November general election.

The council’s next meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21.