Plymouth City Council approves additional appropriations for Fire Department Uniforms and Hoham Drive Project

The Plymouth Common Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday evening for two additional appropriations, directing funds toward new dress uniforms for the fire department and settling a final invoice for the Hoham Drive Improvement Project.

Following a public hearing, the council voted 7-0 to approve the requests, which Clerk-Treasurer Lynn Gorski noted had been advertised on the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) website.

The first request was a $26,384 appropriation from the General Fund for the Plymouth Fire Department. The funds will be used to purchase Class A Dress Uniforms for all career and volunteer members of the department.

Fire Chief Steve Holm explained that the funding stems from a reimbursement. Last year, the department billed Zentis just over $40,000 following a three-day hazardous materials spill response that resulted in additional manpower and lost equipment. While the initial plan was to purchase the dress uniforms only for career firefighters and volunteer officers, further discussions led to the decision to outfit all current full-time and volunteer personnel. Holm noted that he had previously informed Zentis of his plans to use the recovered funds for the uniforms, and they were supportive.

The second appropriation was for $1,782 related to the Hoham Drive Street Improvement Grant. Gorski stated the funds were needed to cover a recent invoice from the Lochmueller Group for additional engineering services. Because the Hoham Drive project had already been completed, no funds were appropriated for it in this year's budget.

City Engineer Dan Sellers explained that the invoice covered the final construction inspection and final documentation submitted to the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). Sellers expressed surprise at the late bill, stating he expected it to have been issued much sooner and was unaware that the city owed additional funds to the firm.

(photo is an example of Class A uniforms)