New goal approved for annex

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Residents on Greencastle's northwest side will have a public place to play basketball following a decision by the Putnam County Commissioners on Monday.

Rod Weinschenk of the Greencastle Parks Dept. asked for permission to erect a basketball goal on an asphalt area on the northeast corner of the courthouse annex site.

The city will maintain the site, and the sturdy goal will cost about $2,000 to purchase and install.

Commissioners Kristina Warren, Gene Beck and Denny O'Hair approved the request, but they questioned whether the basketball court will attract more vandalism to the annex site.

O'Hair noted there is an ongoing problem with young people vandalizing the property, such as turning over benches and marking on the sidewalks.

Warren said the sheriff's department has suggested putting up more signage warning people not to trespass or vandalize the property. She also said that more police patrols in the area would discourage inappropriate activity.

The basketball goal will not likely increase the county's liability, attorney Tim Bookwalter noted.

The commissioners agreed to the goal request, and agreed to ask for more police patrols of the property.

Also during Monday's brief meeting, the commissioners:

-- Heard that preparations are continuing for the Putnam County 4-H Fair. A record number of exhibits are expected, and the fair book is expected to be printed and released to the public by the end of the week.

-- Heard an update from Bill Dory of the Greencastle Putnam County Develop-ment Center with an overview of the work handled by the organization.

-- Learned that county home staff needs a new vehicle.

-- Heard from engineer Steve Luther of Beam Longest and Neff that no plans have been received from Wolpert Engineering concerning the replacement project for Bridge 145. The engineering company backed out of the project after being sold, but has already been paid more than $90,000 toward the replacement project. However, the county has not yet received plans for that work.

-- Heard that vandalism has increased at the Heritage Lake boat docks. Recently, all of the boats were cut loose from the docks.

-- Agreed to vote on the county EDIT plan at their Aug. 7 meeting. The Economic Development Income Tax is distributed among various agencies and programs.

The next meeting of the commissioners is set for 6 p.m. Monday, July 17 at the courthouse annex.

The meeting is open to the public.

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