Fairfield Township offices open to the public first time since March 2020
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Fairfield Township office is back open.
The office was closed in March 2020 because of the pandemic, and Taletha Coles, the former trustee indicted on 42 charges, never opened up the office, except by appointment.
Fairfield Township Interim Trustee Perry Schnarr announced earlier this week that the office opened in the evenings.
At Wednesday's township board meeting, trustee-elect Monica Casanova reviewed the hours, which are 5 to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and 3 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Applications for township assistance may be submitted between 5 and 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Casanova likely will be appointed trustee at Saturday's caucus to fill out the remaining weeks of Coles' term, and then she will begin her first term on Jan. 1. Casanova said she needed to turn in two weeks' notice to her current employer, and expects to start as trustee full time on Nov. 28.
Casanova won election Tuesday as Fairfield Township trustee. That term begins on Jan. 1.
More:Democratic trustees win Fairfield and Wabash Township races
Meanwhile, Schnarr is getting estimates to repair the brick pillar destroyed 14 months ago in a traffic accident. Coles said in September 2021 that she was going to get contractors to repair the damage. She never did.
Schnarr said the first estimate he received was $4,500 to repair it, which included pouring concrete, drilling into the dried concrete and setting rebar inside the pillar before replacing the bricks and stone cap.
More:Brick pillar at Greenbush Cemetery destroyed over the weekend
Schnarr said he planned to get more estimates and will report back to the board about what contractor he decides to hire for the job.
The board also noted that they planned to have an executive session next week to review the township's financial records. A public notice of the meeting, which must include the reason for the executive session, which is closed to the public, has not been published yet.
The Journal & Courier challenged the board, noting that the review of township financial records or a work session is not one of the reasons for a closed-to-the-public executive session.
Board members pledged to look into whether it is an executive session, and if it's not, they said they would just have it as a public meeting.
The Journal & Courier called the Indiana Public Access Counselor's office Thursday morning for advice on the matter.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Fairfield Township offices open to public first time since March 2020
