The Bourbon Town Council handled a variety of items during their meeting on November 14th. They accepted the resignation of Suzie Schaetzel from the Plan Commission to accept the position of zoning officer for the Town of Bourbon.
The town council also approved an amendment to the 2023 Salary Ordinance for the part-time police officer pay. The change moves the hourly pay from $20 to $30 an hour.
With all the discussion in the county about solar panels the Bourbon Plan Commission introduced the amendment to the town board last month. The Plan Commission passed a resolution in October recommending certain guidelines to keep solar paneling within the outlook of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. The recommendations call for solar panels to be flush mounted to the roof and follow the pitch line of the roof. They need to stay within the square footage of the roof with no overhang.
Councilman Terry Clemens asked if the recommendation pertained to those living within the 2-mile zoning district and was told yes. He then questioned if it was fair to regulate those in the country that have more room and sometimes put the solar panels on the ground or away from the house.
Councilman Ward Byers said the two-mile zoning around Bourbon is in place to control growth in the area that could come into the town in the future. Clemens still had concerns and asked to make the restrictions on the roof-mounted solar panels within the town limits but not in the 2-mile. The motion was made to send the ordinance revision back to the plan commission and not put so much restriction on those in the country.
The Bourbon Town Council also approved an amendment to the trash-hauling ordinance for a price increase. The price increase for Borden Trash Hauling was built into the contract for service in 2024 and 2025 but the town’s ordinance didn’t detail it. The new rate in 2024 will be $16.61 per household starting on January 1st and in 2025 it will increase to $17.45.
The Bourbon Town Council unanimously approved amending the trash hauling ordinance.
