Burlington Town Council opened the June 14 meeting with a decision to tear down the red barn, located on the south side of Burlington Community Park. A new barn to house just the town truck and generator will be built in its place.

"When I was township trustee and the new barn was built, the agreement was the park would remove the old barn," said Councilman Wayne Swaim. "That didn't happen."

Since the barn is not insurable, Swaim made the motion to tear it down. He also suggested the council gave people 30 days to remove items from the barn. Currently, Burlington Kiwanis and Community clubs store items in the building. The motion passed unanimously.

Township Trustee Al Jackson told the council that it was his understanding that the park was jointly owned and decisions regarding the park should be made accordingly. He said he would not waste township taxpayers' money to fight the decision, but "strongly objected to the new building being just a town building."

"If the park is jointly owned then what is stopping the township trustee from putting up a township building to house a fire truck?" asked Jackson.

Swaim responded, "The park isn't jointly owned, it's jointly funded."

Town attorney Anne Briggs clarified "that some parcels of the park are jointly deeded."

Jackson concluded by saying that he was disappointed that the council did not contact him regarding tearing down the old barn and replacing it with a barn for town usage only. "I hope things can be discussed before construction happens on the new building."

Jackson was assured by council president Dick Davis that he would be in touch.

The council voted to pay the bill for refurbishing the cannon at the park. The remaining $1,740 balance will temporarily come out of the park board budget.

Town Marshal Jill Hammond reported the police car has been repaired after damage from the May 25 storm, when she assisted with traffic around storm damage on SR 29 near Heinold Hog Market. In her monthly report, she reported issuing 25 tickets and three warnings and investigated a stolen 4-wheeler. She also assisted the county units with an arrest following a traffic stop.

The town will be updating the town map with assistance from surveyor Lawrence Lambert.

S t r e e t / S e w a g e Superintendent Les Johnson reported paving projects are completed and the broken pump on Zook Lane is fixed.

The next regular meeting will be July 12 in the town hall.

Special meeting

During a special meeting on May 22 the council passed Resolution 2006-4, approving submittal of an Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) grant application for a leaf vacuum. The town's match will be $14,000; however, clerk treasurer Tammy Dyer will be applying for additional grant funds from the Northwest Indiana Solid Waste District.

Resolution 2006-5, regarding burning leaves, was passed. The resolution prohibits residents from burning leaves, but burning sticks and vegetation will still be allowed.