Due to a lack of agenda, the Goshen City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, has been cancelled. The next Council meeting will be Tuesday, June 4. 

SR 15 is scheduled for an asphalt resurface this week (the week of May 13). Work on the project, to be completed by INDOT contractor Phend & Brown, includes more nearly 7 miles of paving between U.S. 6 and Kercher Road in Elkhart County.

During the day, drivers are cautioned to watch for flaggers directing traffic through the construction zone. INDOT reminds drivers to use caution and consider worker safety when driving through any active work zone.

The contract was awarded to Phend & Brown for $6.5 million and included the resurface of S.R. 119 in Elkhart County in 2018.

Thank you to those who have participated this year at Beautify Goshen. Residents disposing their items at the Street Department during Beautify Goshen avoid paying fees for taking them to the landfill and avoid disposing of them improperly.

This is a reminder that Saturday, May 11, is the last day the Street Department, 475 Steury Ave., will take items for this year’s Beautify Goshen.

This free service is offered only during the first full week in May (an eight-day week with two Saturdays), and there is no limit to the quantity of items that may be disposed of. Residents must make arrangements to transport the items; there will not be curbside pickup.  Because this free service is paid Goshen city residents’ tax dollars, only City residents are allowed to dispose of items.  IDs will be checked to verify residency.

The collection site will be the Goshen Street Department, 475 Steury Ave. Hours that items will be accepted are as follows:

• Monday––Friday, May 6 -10 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, May 11 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In order to keep disallowed items from entering the waste stream, the Street Department will have a crew member on hand at all times monitoring the items being accepted. Items that can be disposed of are:

• Non-hazardous refuse, such as furniture, carpeting, lumber, dry wall, metal and vinyl siding, windows, fiberglass insulation, mattresses, stoves, landscape timbers, bricks, etc.
• White goods, such as refrigerators, air conditioners, freezers, dehumidifiers, etc.; the Freon does not have to be removed
• Electronic waste, such as computers, home phones, televisions, etc.
• Tires up to 16½”, either on or off their rims

The following items will not be accepted during this large-item disposal:

• Pesticides or herbicides (insect or weed killers)
• Unlabeled drums containing any substance
• Sealed pressurized containers (propane tanks, etc.)
• Paint thinners, oil base or water base paint
• Brush and yard waste
• Asbestos insulation
• Contaminated soil

During the other 51 weeks of the year, Goshen residents may place one or two large items per month with their regular weekly trash for removal. (This does not include electronics, old tube-type televisions or any cooling appliances containing Freon or any of the items not accepted in the Beautify Goshen disposal.) For details of the year-long, large-item disposal, contact Borden Waste-Away at (574) 293-5001.

The City has developed a policy that establishes a procedure to remove the current homeless encampments in public property, with the help of a task force consisting of elected officials, nonprofit organizations, and neighboring residents and businesses. The policy will be enacted immediately.  (Read the policy here).

The plan calls for establishing a deadline (in this case, the deadline is May 27) by which those camping on public property will have to relocate. City staff will notify homeless individuals of their deadline. Between now and May 27, the City and members of the Goshen Coalition for the Homeless will reach out and work with campers to assess their needs, and assist in finding temporary shelter and other required services unless the person refuses assistance. If their property remains on the site after the deadline, the City will remove personal property and keep it in storage for up to 90 days.

The City has avoided, during extreme weather, moving people out of safety concerns. This winter, the City helped initiate a program to provide temporary shelter in Goshen. However, Mayor Jeremy Stutsman and the Goshen Police Department received numerous complaints over the last month about the presence of tents and campfires, and public intoxication in the areas along the Millrace Canal and other areas of the city. City staff estimates about 50 people are camping along the Millrace and an additional 20 in other public areas. Additionally, camping, campfires and alcohol on city property is not permitted by City ordinance.

While the Goshen Coalition for the Homeless works to find sustainable, long-term solutions to issues that are complex and require a thoughtful and compassionate approach, this policy will focus on the immediate issue of a growing tent community in a public area not designated for camping.

“I want to thank the members of the task force for sharing their time and expertise to help us craft this policy,” Mayor Stutsman said. “The City of Goshen will continue to work with the Goshen Coalition for the Homeless and all others who wish to help find the long-term solutions.”

About the task force: Mayor Jeremy Stutsman created a task force to address concerns over the growing encampments throughout the city. The group is composed of city staff; three City Council members: Julia King, Jim McKee and Brett Weddell, neighboring residents and businesses owners, as well as representatives from Oaklawn, The Window, Goshen Interfaith Hospitality Network, the Goshen Chamber of Commerce and NIPSCO.

The Goshen Arts Council is looking for artists who live or work in Goshen as it forms a citywide arts directory.

The listing, which can be found at goshenartscouncil.org, serves as a resource to help artists and customers to connect with one another. New collaborations and business endeavors can happen by building a large network of local artists and art professionals in Goshen, and it gives visibility to the great talent in this community.

To be in the directory, artists can fill out a form at bit.ly/GACdirectory. The form will ask for a short description of their work, affiliations to guilds or other organizations, and preferred contact information to their businesses (if applicable). Artists adding their name to the directory must have a connection to Goshen.

For any questions related to the directory, email goshenartscouncil@gmail.com.

About the Goshen Arts Council: In the fall of 2016, Mayor Jeremy Stutsman assembled a team of 12 local artists and patrons of the arts to form Goshen’s first-ever Goshen Arts Council. The Goshen Arts Council is the collective voice for the arts, advancing the City of Goshen by delivering resources, developing innovative collaborations, fostering creativity in the community and recognizing the arts as an economic driver while improving quality of place.

Got any spring cleaning going on this weekend? This is a reminder Beautify Goshen starts this Saturday, May 4. Also, don’t forget the April brush and leaf collection is happening this week and next week.

In conjunction with the Goshen Chamber of Commerce’s Beautify Goshen Week, the Goshen Street Department will be making additional disposal services available to assist city residents in their “Beautify Goshen” tasks.

This free service is offered only during the first full week in May (an eight-day week, May 4–11, with two Saturdays), and there is no limit to the quantity of items that may be disposed of. Residents must make arrangements to transport the items; there will not be curbside pickup. Because this free service is paid by Goshen residents’ tax dollars, only city residents are allowed to dispose of items. IDs will be checked to verify residency.

The collection site will be the Goshen Street Department, 475 Steury Ave. Here are the dates and times when items will be accepted:

• Saturday, May 4 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Sunday, May 5: CLOSED
• Monday–Friday, May 6–10: from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, May 11, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In order to keep disallowed items from entering the waste stream, the Street Department will have a crew member on hand at all times monitoring the items being brought. Items that can be disposed of are:

• Non-hazardous refuse, such as furniture, carpeting, lumber, dry wall, metal and vinyl siding, windows, fiberglass insula­tion, mattresses, stoves, landscape timbers, bricks, etc.
• White goods, such as refrigerators, air conditioners, freez­ers, dehumidifiers, etc.; the Freon does not have to be removed
• Electronic waste, such as computers, home phones, tele­visions, etc.
• Tires up to 16½”, either on or off their rims

• The following items will NOT be accepted during this large-item disposal: Pesticides or herbicides (insect or weed killers)
• Unlabeled drums containing any substance
• Sealed, pressurized containers (propane tanks, helium tanks, etc.)
• Paint thinners, oil- or water-based paint
• Brush and yard waste
• Asbestos insulation
• Contaminated soil