Ripley County Planning Commission representative for the Town of Versailles, Bob Gray, announced during the November 10 Versailles Town Board meeting that he will resign come the end of December. Gray has spent 10 years in the position and told the board “I’ve enjoyed it here.”

Gray explained his reason for resigning from the position was due to time and that he had a lot of grandkids involved in a lot of sports. He also gave the board some suggestions for the future such as expanding the town limit to 200 south and cleaning up the area around McDonald's.

The board complimented Gray on his work and thanked him for his service.

Park board member Gil Landwehr asked the board if the Tyson Auditorium was part of Parks and Recreation. The board explained they were not sure. “If it’s included in parks and recreation I want to get in it and see what I can do,” said Landwehr. Clerk-treasurer Kiersten Libby explained she met with an insurance representative that asked about Tyson Auditorium and plans for future use of the building. The insurance representative gave Libby a name of someone in Madison who has been involved in restoring historic buildings and explained this person would be a good person to contact about the gym. “We’re going to move forward quickly on that,” said board president John Holzer, adding, “sooner rather than later.”

Holzer suggested the town shut off the water to houses when a water leak is found and no one is at home in order to avoid another situation like the one Standley Taylor brought to the board at the October meeting.

Town maintenance supervisor Kevin Hensley agreed, but said, “The guys will need to make sure no one is there before turning off the water.” Libby expressed concern about getting the water turned back on if the leak was found during the day when no one was home but returns home after the town hall was closed. Versailles Town Marshal Joe Mann told the board if the department had the right tools they could turn the water back on if the homeowner needed it turned on after business hours.

At the close of the meeting, Ginger Bradford congratulated the board on their election wins and said she appreciated that their campaigning was very positive. Those in attendance expressed their disappointment with voter turnout, which brought Bradford to ask the board if they ever considered going in with the general election.

Holzer said they have considered it and they wouldn’t be able to do it until 2014. It would cost the town a lot of money, but it will bring in more voters.

In other news:

• Marshal Mann reported the Versailles Police Department’s activity for the month of October, and asked the board about putting in for a Rising Sun grant for items for reserve officers. He also asked the board about getting money for a new police cruiser. The board told him to get some information and numbers to them.

• Hensley reported the town had about 160 water meters left to replace before completion of the project, and that the last day for leaf pickup will be Tuesday, November 22.

• Versailles Fire Chief Ben Sieverding reported his department had responded to 30 calls in October.

• Board member Sue Meisberger reported that she had talked with the town’s attorney Larry Eaton about the Heart House cleaning out their dumpster once a week.

The next regular meeting of the Versailles Town Board will be December 8 at 7:00 p.m at the Versailles Town Hall.