NORTH VERNON, Ind. — The North Vernon City Council convened on Monday to discuss several items.
The room was crowded, mostly due to the North Vernon Main Street (NVMS) board in attendance to support director Autumn Moore who requested a renewal of the city’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NVMS. When the organization was established in 2021, then-director Anna Walker created the three-year MOU with the support of $45,000 from the city to help NVMS start and work toward the goal of being self-sustainable.
The nonprofit hasn’t quite gotten there yet, so Moore asked for a continuation of two years and an increase from $45,000 to $51,500 to keep up with inflation. The council approved the motion.
Mayor Shawn Gerkin announced that a new North Vernon Police Department (NVPD) building is in the works. A study was done on the feasibility of constructing a new NVPD home by the Board of Works and Board of Redevelopment. The next step is an agreement on architectural design. The estimated price would be $6 million and the cost of the design agreement is 8% of the total project expenditure. Gerkin emphasized the building can be constructed without raising taxes. It will likely be where the current police department is downtown. The design process will take about six months to complete.
Gerkin also officially asked the board’s permission to advertise for a code enforcement officer. At the last council meeting, it was explained that the position would be under the umbrella of the fire department and the office would be located there. The code enforcement officer would inspect all commercial buildings and help the city’s street and police departments enforce city ordinances. The board approved the advertisement for the position.
