Roachdale works toward revitalizing community

ROACHDALE -- The Roachdale Town Council was informed of the construction of a new platform at Tuesday's meeting on the old B and O railroad track just outside of town by Heritage Environmental Services. This platform will be used to cut down the company's carbon emissions and will bring them closer to the Roachdale landfill.

Heritage representative Dean Desantus told the town that 25-30 loads of hazardous industrial waste would travel by truck through the main thoroughfare in Roachdale. Desantus assured the community that the waste was hazardous "by definition and not by the characteristics that it possessed."

Joe Buser, president of the Roachdale Revitalization Committee, and other members of the committee expressed their concerns with the extra traffic and with how this might impact the community.

"This doesn't help Roachdale," Buser stated. "The big guys win once again."

Meanwhile, Tammy Folck brought before the council a list of businesses that have pledged funds to buy picnic tables for the park.

At last month's meeting Folck had been asked to get these pledges to help move the park project, she had come up with, forward. The council gave their go ahead for her to start phase one of the project, which includes getting new picnic tables and redoing some of the concrete at the pavilion area.

Folck also recommended that a board be formed to help with input on the project. The council set up an advisory committee with town council member Barbara Scott as a representative on it.

Council member Zach Bowers brought up the need to do something about some the condemned building in Roachdale.

Bowers brought up the Shelia Williams property that still needed to be demolished.

Earlier in the meeting town council President Jack Jones spoke out concerning a community member who had volunteered to help Williams with her condemned property.

Jones accused the volunteer of "taking goodies from the top" and selling them without completing the work. He also went on to state that the women could lose everything because of it. The community member told Jones that he had paying jobs now and had volunteered when no work was available to him.

Jones' frustration got the better of him and had to be calmed down by Scott.

The council decided that the Williams property, which had originally been addressed in Sept. 2012, needs to be cleaned up by next month's meeting or a lien will be put on the property.

"Something needs to give somewhere." Bowers commented.

The Bryant property has also been given a deadline to have the trailer removed from the property by July 1.

The next Roachdale town meeting is scheduled for June 11 at 7 p.m.

In other business:

*The town adopted a new fair housing ordinance along with passing an ordinance to start collecting a $3 storm water fee from all users and owners of property served by the storm water utility in Roachdale.

* The town council also looked at starting a mowing ordinance, lawns would have to be kept under eight inches in length. If lawns are left unattended that town would be able to put a lien on the property and charge a fee for the town to mow the lawn.

* Aaron Hacker was approved for a building permit to construct decks onto a home

* A bid was approved from Wabash Valley Asphalt to fix Columbus St. and Meridian St.